The End of Summer
by Silver Dancers
Summary: Hermione knows for a fact that she is a transfer student in Hell. Spying for the order turns into a nightmare when the Gryffindor's shady past reveals the most important peice of information she's ever learned. She was born a Parkinson. DISCONTINUED
1. Prolouge: Voices

A/N: Hello all and welcome to my fic, The End of Summer, featuring Hermione Granger and Pansy Parkinson. To get a full scoop on the story, check my profile. Thanks and enjoy =)

Oh, just a warning, the Prologue is written differently for a purpose. The rest of the story is written normally.

Prologue: Voices

_Why me? Why is it always me?_

**Miss Granger, I know that this may be the most difficult thing you have ever done, but desperate time call for desperate measures. **

_No, I don't want to. You can't make me…_

Yes, sir.

**Good. Then, I expect you to be taken in by them sooner rather than later. Tom Riddle has always been fond of intelligence and the prospect of having the smartest witch of our age in his grasp may be too hard to resist. Power has always been his weakness. **

_If you already know his weakness, what do you need me for?_

Yes, sir.

**You are answering very shortly, Miss Granger. **

_What else can I say? No isn't an option. _

It's rather a lot to take in, Headmaster.

**Yes, I suppose it is. **

_No shit, Sherlock. _

Well, how am I supposed to begin this mission? You don't expect me to just waltz into their ranks do you?

**Not at all, Miss Granger. The way into the Death Eaters is by becoming one of them.**

_Me, a Death Eater? _

How am I supposed to do that?

**By revealing that you aren't a Granger at all. **

_Wait… What? How does he know? _

How do you know that I was adopted, sir?

**I'm the one who placed you in a new home. **

Then you know who my birth parents are?

**Of course! I also believe that you may already by acquainted with your twin, fraternal, I assure you. **

_Holy Mother… _

Twin!?

**Yes. Do you, by any chance know a Miss Pansy Parkinson? **

_No_

_ No_

_ No_

_ This can't be happening to me…_

PARKINSON!

**Oh my. Miss Granger, please calm down. **

I'm related to that nest of Death Eaters and you expect me to calm down? Oh, I get it. I'm supposed to take the fact that I was born to Death Eaters and am now using that fact to infiltrate their ranks and spy for you calmly? And you have the nerve-

**Yelling won't do you any good, Miss Granger. **

I suppose you have to call me Miss Parkinson now.

**Not entirely. You still can be called Miss Granger if you wish. **

I do wish.

**Good. I see you have calmed. Is there anything else you wish to know? **

Why did the Parkinsons give me up?

**Oh… Well… They didn't. **

Huh?

**When you were born, I foresaw this conflict and took you for this exact purpose. I also obliviated their memories of you. **

Let me get this straight. You stole me from my birth family for the one-in-a-million chance that some creature who was supposed to be dead would rise again and you could use me?

**It sounds quite harsh when you put it that way. Wait! Miss Granger! Where are you going? **

To the Common Room, where everything makes sense.

**I have a few more things to tell you. **

Then what are they?

**The Parkinsons memories were restored and they requested that beginning in that last two weeks of vacation, you go live with them. **

_I think I'm a transfer student in Hell._

Well then, I believe the acquaintance is unavoidable.

**Can you forgive me for telling you all of this now? **

I don't know, but I have a duty to do anyway. I don't have time to complain.

**Telling you that you are next year's Head Girl won't make it better, I suppose. **

Not anymore. Good day, Headmaster.

**Good day, Miss Granger. **


	2. Welcome to Hell: I'll be your tour guide

Chapter 1: Welcome to Hell. I'm Pansy Parkinson and I'll be your tour guide!

Hermione looked sourly at the fireplace. The last two weeks of summer had come far too quickly for her liking. She wanted nothing more in the world than to stay with the people who had raised her. She wanted to go to the Burrow and be with Ron and the rest of the Weasleys. She didn't even care if she had to spend the rest of vacation with Lavender or Parvati. At least they were Gryffindors. But no one cared what she wanted.

Taking one last deep breath, she quickly grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and tossed it into the fireplace.

--Parkinson Manor—

Hermione was usually good with handling the Floo Network. Yet, her current life was anything but usual. Instead, she sprawled into a dimly lit, sparsely furnished room.

She coughed slightly and drew herself up from the ground. It was then that she realized she had an audience.

Leaning against a far wall, almost completely obscured in shadows was a semi-familiar figure.

Her twin.

"Mother thought it best if I greet you first. After all, we know each other so well." Hermione didn't have to see the Slytherin to hear the sneer eminent in her voice.

Pansy Parkinson stepped out of the deep shadows and into the light cast from the fireplace. Silently, they stood there, simply watching each other, daring the other to make the first move.

In those few, precious moments of quiet, Hermione quickly searched for anything that could actually prove the bond of sisterhood that they shared.

_Our noses are similar, and so are our ears… We're both the same height too… _Hermione mused.

Two pairs of identical deep brown eyes met.

Hermione's lips curled into a sort of smile, "There aren't many similarities in us, aren't there Parkinson?"

Pansy gave a half laugh, "Thank Merlin for that, Granger."

"Pansy! Pansy! Is she here yet?" A shrill voice echoed into the room. Both girls flinched, Hermione far more noticeably that Pansy.

"Yes mother," Parkinson called back. She turned back to Hermione. "Come on, Granger. Time to learn some simple pureblood rules. Number one: Don't disobey your parents."

With that, she spun around on her heels and clicked out of the room. Hermione had to nearly trot to keep up with the quick pace the pureblood set.

She led Hermione through a large doorway and into a larger room. The ceiling was made of glass and in the early morning sun, the room was only softly lit.

Seated in a large, plushy chair, was a small, dark haired woman. Long, perfectly placed curls surrounded her cherubic face and her hands were busy turning the pages of a rather large book.

"Mother?" Pansy ventured hesitantly.

The woman in question looked up quickly. Her eyes fell almost immediately on Hermione. She stood and walked over. In the spirit of déjà vu, nothing was said as the newest Parkinson was scrutinized. Hermione shifted uncomfortably. Then, the porcelain doll of a woman began to laugh.

It was a carefree, chiming laugh that had even Hermione beginning to crack a smile.

" Well, this is certainly awkward. As Pansy knows, I'm usually not short on words, but I truly have no idea what to say," She looked Hermione over and shook her head. "I can't believe that that man would take a woman's child from her for sixteen entire years and obliviate their memories on top of it! Oh! People like that are extreamly untrustworthy. Anyway, enough of that, you need to do something with that infamous Parkinson hair."

"Parkinson hair?" Hermione gaped incredulously.

"Oh yes, both Pansy and I have those terrible curls as well, but we have learned how to fix them," Mrs. Parkinson continued. "I also had the honors of checking your trunk this morning. I believe that we are in dire need of a shopping trip, dear, so I scheduled a few hours tomorrow for that. Oh! By the way, that cat of yours is an absolute terror. He got into the kitchen and the elves were distraught for the entire morning-"

"Stop talking her ears off, Delilah. I thought you said you were at a loss for words." The tension that had lifted when the girls' mother was bantering good-naturedly returned triple-fold the moment a suave voice melted into the room.

Marius Parkinson was not tall, but you wouldn't ever miss him. He was dark in every aspect. His skin, eyes, voice, and disposition were all laden with a heavy shadow that made him stand out like a beacon in a crowd.

He floated over to where the three women were. Hermione wanted to shiver from the intense scrutiny in his gaze. While Pansy had been searching for similarities and her mother for things that were fixable, Mr. Parkinson seemed to innately find every part of Hermione that couldn't be changed. The parts that he found wrong.

"So you are my daughter," he said flatly.

Yes, sir," she answered quietly.

"Then I expect you to behave as such. I am the master of this house and my word is law. Do I make myself clear?" He growled.

Hermione felt as if a legion of creepy crawlies were wandering over her body. "Perfectly, sir."

"Good, then go unpack."

He left and the darkness left with him.

Sometime during this brief exchange, both Pansy and her mother, their mother, Hermione reminded herself, began nervously checking their fingernails.

"Umm… well then dear… Pansy, go show Hermione her room and go through her stuff to see is there's anything worth keeping."

Hermione scowled deeply at Mrs. Parkinson's assessment of her wardrobe. Sighing deeply, Pansy lazily beckoned for the Gyffindor to follow.


	3. Unwilling Participants

A/N: Thank you to both Healer4Ever and "signed" for reviewing =) Conscructive criticism, reviews in general, are always well received!

**Chapter 2- Unwilling participants **

Five minutes and two staircases later found both girls sitting on a king sized bed surrounded by the blues and greens of the room. Hermione's trunks were opened and the once impeccably folded and pressed clothes were being mercilessly dissected by Pansy. The Slytherin didn't look the least bit pleased, but she wasn't complaining, much to Hermione's satisfaction. The silence wasn't necessarily awkward, but it was uncomfortably heavy. To everyone in the Parkinson household, the entire day seemed to be one, long, judging analysis. Truly, it had been that way since Dumbledore had revealed Hermione's true identity.

"Oh, look, I found one," Pansy suddenly remarked dryly, looking up.

"Let me see it," Hermione ordered, motioning for Pansy to hand it over.

"It's probably one you've hated your entire life," Pansy sneered.

"I wouldn't doubt it."

Pansy tossed the outfit over to Hermione.

"Oh, that one," The she blushed. She had actually always liked it, but she had never gathered enough nerve to wear it. It was a mid-thigh length, deep red summer dress with crinoline under the skirt. The top was fitting and had spaghetti straps. In the middle, hugging the waist was a large white belt.

Pansy shrugged. "It looks slightly outdated and extremely American, but it's the closest thing to okay that I've found."

Hermione looked over. "Well, thank you, Pansy."

"That wasn't meant to be a compliment," the darker girl hissed.

"Don't worry, I didn't take it as one."

"Then why did you say thank you?"

"Habit probably."

"Break it."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Quiet ensued again, but it lasted only momentarily as both girls began snickering.

"Maybe we really are twins," Hermione mused.

"Surprisingly, Granger, I think I believe you."

"That's a first."

"I'm still glad I don't look like you."

"Ditto."

"And- CAT!"

A big, furry ball pounced onto the bed and began purring uproariously.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione laughed.

"Your damn cat nearly gave me a heart attack!" Pansy shrieked.

Hermione began petting her orange fluffball of a cat. "Oh relax. You don't have to overreact."

Pansy sniffed. "I did not overreact at all."

"Of course," Hermione scoffed.

"I didn't!" Her pitch began rising rapidly.

"There you go again."

"Just because _some of us _never seem to raise their voices doesn't mean the rest of us are overreacting!"

"Parkinson, you're famous for overreacting," The Gryffindor dryly remarked.

"And who says that?" Pansy mocked. "St. Potter and Weasel?"

Hermione sprung up, sending Crookshanks careening off of her lap. "Let us get this straight, Parkinson, I am quietly abiding by the fact I will have to deal with you for the rest of my life while attempting to act civilly." Her voice lowered dangerously. "But don't you ever dare talk about Harry and Ron badly."

Pansy opened her mouth, but Hermione cut her off again. "Oh, I don't care if you talk bad to your friends, but make sure I'm not around."

Hermione sat back down and the two girls hung on a fragile silence, their back turned to each other.

Pansy broke it, her soft words barely registering. "Our Lord would not approve of you continuing connections with Potter."

Hermione felt a shiver go up her spine at the mention of Voldemort. She let out a nervous chuckle. "Somehow, I think your Lord would disapprove of most things I do." She paused. "And your father."

Pansy's lips turned into a graceful frown. "It's not father you have to worry about."

Hermione started. "Excuse me?"

Pansy ignored the interruption and continued. "He won't be the one tattling if you do something unsatisfactory. The one you need to watch yourself around is mother."

She stopped, but Hermione's interest had been peaked.

"What about your mother?" She prodded the Slytherin for more information.

Pansy glanced dubiously at her twin. "Our mother," she stressed, "Is the one who will be tweeting into an unfeeling ear."

Hermione's face fell into an expression of confusion.

Pansy's voice lowered to a feverish whisper. "Are you stupid, you block-headed Gryffindor? Are you going to make me say it out loud?"

Hermione didn't say anything. Her appearance gave away her puzzlement. She wondered what Pansy was getting so worked up about.

The other girl's face curled with disgust. She spun around and looked Hermione straight in the eye. "Since you seem to be getting nowhere on your own, allow me to give you some enlightenment." Her voice fell to a level so quiet, Hermione could barely hear.

"Mother is a Death Eater."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, duh."

It was Pansy's turn to be confused. "Now what are you talking about, Granger?"

"Aren't all of you Death Eaters?"

Pansy gave a mirthless laugh. "Think again Granger. Not every Slytherin is a Death Eater. We may have the ideals, or get drawn into it, but only a select few actually bear the mark."

"So neither you nor your father have the mark?"

"That's what I said. Father is too shady for our Lord's liking. Our Lord doesn't want him getting into places that the bearers of the mark can access. As for me," A small smirk appeared on her features. "not all of us are willing participants in this war, Granger."

Pansy then turned away from Hermione and slowly began absentmindedly shuffling through Hermione's trunks again.

Hermione watched her twin and began to feel a sort of grudging respect for the other girl. She thought that maybe she had misjudged the Slytherins. Then she remembered Malfoy and his sort and all thoughts of reconciliation flew out of her head as if they had never been there in the first place.

Slowly, she joined Pansy by her trunks and once again dove into the lingering silence.


	4. Amazement and Disparities

Chapter 3: Amazement and Disparities.

A soft purring filled the room with a gentle thrum, making Hermione's eyes flutter open. What met her eyes startled her. Her room was cream colored and gold, with reds speckled throughout. This place where she was lying was blue, silver and green. The only thing that was the same were the massive cream colored pillows that surrounded her.

The truth was stone cold. She wouldn't wake up in a warmly colored room again. Well, unless she painted it, of course, but she highly doubted that the Parkinson's would change their flawless color schemes just to serve their odd daughter.

She sighed deeply. The day prior hadn't gone as badly as she expected, but it probably was because everyone had just stayed out of everyone else's way. Marius hadn't made an appearance until dinner, Delilah had "work" to attend to, and Pansy, after helping Hermione unpack, had floated off into her room, claiming a headache.

A crash in the bathroom across the hall tore Hermione out of her reverie. Crookshanks, who had been lying down in a ray of sunlight, sprung up and hid under the bed.

A shriek and stream of high pitched curses followed the crash. Hermione leapt out of her giant bed and, without thinking, flew into the bathroom.

"Pansy, are you alright?" the words slipped out of Hermione's mouth as soon as she opened the door.

Pansy was sitting on the ground. Stretched across her right foot and part of her leg was a long red welt. When she looked up at Hermione's entrance, her eyes were moist.  
"Do I look alright to you Granger?" she hissed, but Hermione could tell that her heart wasn't behind the threat.

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

Pansy grimaced in pain," I'll explain later, just" her labored breathing cut her off. " see the cabinet next to you?"

Hermione looked and nodded.

"In the top shelf is a jar of burn healing paste, get that for me, will you," Pansy ordered weakly.

Hermione quickly obeyed and when she kneeled down, she saw the reason for the blistering wound on Pansy's foot.

A curling iron lay on the stone tiles, smoking indignantly.

"You use a curling iron?" Hermione asked, curious.

Pansy scowled and snatched the paste from Hermione. "Of course! You think I use magic to make my hair perfect? If there is one thing muggles are useful for, it's their technology. "  
She winced as she slathered the potion on her burn.

Hermione felt awkward just standing there watching Pansy, so she walked over and began putting things in order on the counter. It was a nervous habit she had acquired some years ago. Whenever she felt angry or sad, or any perturbing emotion, she felt the need to organize. Her room at her "parents" house had been impeccable in the weeks before leaving to live with the Parkinson's.

Pansy watched her closely. "Do you think I'm incapable of putting my own things away?"

Hermione put the bottle of lotion down and leaned against a wall, nervously wringing her hands. "No, it's just-"

The Slytherin's dark glare made Hermione stop in her tracks. "When I ask a question like that, it's rhetorical. Do what you want. I only use this bathroom for fixing my hair anyway."

Hermione's eyes widened. Then she chided herself. This was a mansion with only three people. Each person would most definitely have more than one bathroom, especially if they were all as small as this one. Which she highly doubted.

"Think fast."

The jar of burn healing paste flew through the air at the zoned out teen. Hermione gasped, but her DADA training kicked in and her hands flew out. She scowled at Pansy who was beaming. As the dark girl pulled herself up into a standing position, she said, "I wanted to see just how fast your reactions are."

Hermione looked doubtfully at her twin.

Once she was sitting on the counter, Pansy threw up her hands in defense. "Okay, fine! Maybe I did indulge the urge to throw something at you, but it was mostly to see how fast you can think."

"Of course," Hermione muttered, moving to put the paste back in its cabinet.

"Are you going to help me or not?"

The sound of Pansy's voice shouldn't have startled Hermione, after all they had just been talking, but the words made her spin around.

The dark Slytherin sat on the marble countertop with her arms crossed, glaring expectantly at Hermione.

"Excuse me?" Hermione questioned.

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Do you really expect me to walk back to my room without help? Burn Healing paste works quickly, but not miracles."

Hermione sighed deeply and offered her arm to her twin. Pansy looked disgruntled at the prospect of having to actually need Hermione, but she wasn't about to be sitting on the freezing surface waiting for the paste to work.

Slowly, the two girls maneuvered their way out of the bathroom and down the hall. Pansy's suite was two doors down from Hermione's. Both doors were dressing rooms that could be adjoined, but Pansy's clothes currently filled both. Thinking of clothes only served to remind Hermione sourly of Mrs. Parkinson's, her mother's, promise to take her shopping.

Pansy pulled her door open and Hermione helped her hop inside. As soon as she got a glimpse of the room, the Gryffindor stood stock still.

Pansy took the nearest book and whacked Hermione over the head with it. "Wake up, bookworm, not only know-it-alls read you know."

Hermione sniffed at Pansy and quickly deposited the quickly healing girl on the large, four poster bed. It took a few moments for the realization that Pansy's room was amazing to sink in. The room was colored in reds, browns, and deep eggplant purples.

"Wow," was the only thing that escaped Hermione's mouth when she came back to her senses. She sat back in a large Lazy-Boy style chair and looked at the walls. You could barely see them for the massive shelves of books that covered them.

"Just a reminder, Granger, this may look like it, but it's not heaven," Pansy's voice drifted into Hermione's thoughts. She stole a peek over at the other girl and could immediately tell that Pansy was holding back laughter.

"I would've never thought…" Hermione trailed off.

Pansy shrugged. "Like I said. I like to read, just not books that a) we're required to or b) textbooks like you do. I only have novels and books of art in here."

"Wow."

Now Pansy did laugh. "Oh, your face, Hermione, it's priceless." She giggled hysterically.

Hermione peaked up. "You called me Hermione."

Pansy stopped laughing. "Oh, I did, didn't I." She looked ruffled for a few seconds before continuing. "Well, you called me Pansy earlier."

"I guess I did." Hermione mused.

"Well, I hope you don't get used to it."

"I feel the same way."

Awkward silence ensued. Pansy leaned over to a heavy cherry desk and took a tissue from a holder there. She slowly wiped the remains of the paste off of her leg and foot. Only a small blemish remained.

"Anyway," Pansy said quietly. "Do you mind throwing me that water bottle there?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I feel like a house elf, Pansy. Why aren't you just using magic?"

"Laziness. Also, you're right there and I don't have my wand with me." Pansy answered.

"You're impossible," Hermione grumbled, but threw the small bottle of water at the girl on the bed. Thinking about house elves made Hermione's brain twist in a different direction, though. She was about to ask Pansy about the Parkinson house elves before a shrill, slightly panicky voice reverberated down the hallway.

"Pansy! Hermione! Oh dear, what should I do? Pansy! Hermione!"

The doors down the hall all flew open and a few seconds later, looking very stressed, was the twins' mother. Delilah looked at the pair of them and began speaking slower, and at a lower pitch than her frantic screeching in the corridor. "Pansy, will your things fit Hermione?"

Pansy opened her mouth to respond. "It doesn't matter, if they don't, mine will. But I need you to find something suitable for the both of you. I had intended to go shopping this afternoon, but we will have to postpone that."

"Mother, just tell us what's going on," Pansy scowled.

Delilah took a deep breath. "After hearing various rumors, the Inner Circle has decided to convene for us to introduce our newest member."

Pansy's eyes widened. "Oh no."

Hermione was speechless.

"That's not the worst part dear," Their mother continued.

"Our Lord will be there as well." She turned to face Hermione directly. "My child, do not disappoint us."

With that, the formidably petite woman spun out of the room and clicked down the hall. 


	5. Almost Shopping

Disclaimer: Since I've been neglecting these lately, I'll take a little time to say: I own nothing except the plot bunnies in my head and the computer I'm typing with. The Harry Potter franchise belongs to J.K. Rowling.

a/n: Just a quick thank you to Babydoll gone wrong1, voldyismyfather, Ace, ChrisH-is-mine, Healer 4 ever, and signed who have reviewed past chapters and the lovely example they set for others. Reviews are like cookies =)

Also, I'm just going to say sorry for the long wait. I won't waste your time with a sob story =P

Okay, onto my filler-ish chapter (yet it is necessary)

**Chapter 4: Almost shopping**

After Delilah's clicking heels faded into nothing, Hermione and Pansy simply sat, looking blankly at each other.

Suddenly, Pansy let out a muffled sob and let her head fall into her hands.

"Oh, we're so screwed. We're all going to get Crucio'ed or Avada Kedaver'ed and then-"

"Parkinson, calm down." Hermione sighed.

"-our bodies are going to be hung over Diagon Alley or some equally busy place-"

"Parkinson, you're not helping."

"- 'cause everyone knows that the Dark Lord is back, but now it'll be disgustingly obvious what'll happen to betrayers and-"

"Pansy, just shut up!" Hermione turned on her sister, her heart pounding with fear. Parkinson was only voicing her own fears, but that didn't mean she wanted to hear them.

The dark girl's lips pressed together quickly. Only their breathing broke the monotonous silence. It was then that Hermione noticed the small tear running down Pansy's cheek.

"Oh, Pansy, it won't be that bad," Hermione quietly said, praying to any listening deity that she was right.

Pansy deeply frowned then looked away. "You Gyffindors obviously aren't afraid to die."

The future Head Girl bristled and jumped up out of her seat. "I'm wary of death, but that doesn't mean I resign myself to it."

A slow smile crept onto Pansy's lips. "Lay your fur flat, Hellcat. Still, you're right. If we don't want to be shot the moment we walk in, we might as well find something acceptable to dress you in," Pansy looked Hermione up and down. "Because, if I may be so bold, I dare say that our Lord wouldn't approve of fluffy zebra shorts and a baggy Shakespeare shirt."

Hermione quickly looked down at herself and remembered that neither she nor Pansy was ready for guests.

"Yah, well you don't look to bad yourself," Hermione pointed out when looking at pansy's silver tank top and sweat pants. Pansy sniffed in disdain as slowly stood up. The burn healing paste  
had worked its miracles, so there was no pain. Feeling more confident, Pansy stalked to her "closet" without another word to Hermione.

The Gryffindor watched her with one eyebrow raised.

"What did I do to tick her off now?" she quietly muttered to herself when she began to follow Pansy, "That girl goes hot and cold like a rinse cycle."

"What's a rinse cycle?" A voice demanded of Hermione as soon as she stepped into the other room. In fact, Hermione practically ran into the owner of the voice.

Hermione's dark skinned counterpart stood in the doorway scowling.

The Gryiffndor shrugged. "It's some muggle thing."

Pansy continued to scowl, but seemed satisfied with the answer. She turned back to her magnificent wardrobe. Hermione was in awe. She immediately assumed that the sheer size of the room turned "closet" could inspire even the coldest fashion heart. Everything was organized in different sections by length, fabric, and color.

The Slytherin princess made a bee line for the dresses. To be specific, the cotton, medium length dresses. Surprisingly, Hermione noticed her red dress in that section. Pansy's eyes had followed  
knowingly and commented. "I absorbed anything I deemed worthy into my closet. The rest of your clothes are in your room's dresser."

"Why did you do that?" Hermione questioned in amazement.

Pansy's feet shuffled slightly. "Because I was convinced by a third party that we should share a closet. You also have free reign of my clothes as long they aren't a Knut, Penny, or American cent over any  
equivalency to 200 galleons."

Hermione's eyes widened exponentially. "Two Hundred Galleons?" she squeaked.

Pansy chuckled. "Yes, 200. That reduces you to about a third of my closet."

Hermione made an unintelligible sound.

"Oh close your mouth, Granger. Drool is starting to come out," Pansy continued to chuckle while looking through the dresses.

Hermione made herself snap out of it. Everything seemed to be surprising her. First, the Slytherin princess shows off a collection of books that would surprise anyone. Then, she was caught drooling at the prospect of exploring Pansy's closet. Hermione wondered what had possessed her. She normally didn't even care for clothes. Still, when an offer like the one she received came up, she suspected even fashion haters would be flying off the walls.

"Here."

Hermione's head whipped around to see the outfits that Pansy had thrust at her.

"Here's your only chance to be in a fashion show, Granger. Try each of those on and show me them."

Hermione quickly looked through the four or five possibilities. Again, she saw her dress among them.  
"Why can't I just wear mine?" Hermione queried hopefully.

Pansy's lip curled. "That's a last resort, Granger."

Hermione's frown returned. "Fine."

She forcefully snatched away the dresses and went into her room .The first dress on the pile was yellow and slightly obnoxious to look at. Hermione glanced at it in distaste, but put it on anyway. It was too tight, probably tailored to fit Pansy's doll frame. It was also a tube top and Hermione hated tube tops.

Hated. Hated. Hated.

With a dark scowl permeating her features, Hermione used the small door to enter the dressing room again. She had barely stepped in before Pansy turned her around and forced her back out.

"No. Never wear yellow in your life, Granger. It makes you look sickly," Pansy ordered.

The rest of the dresses, a white with flowers, green, and her own red all were met with simple frowns and a quick ushering back into her room.

At the end, Pansy sighed deeply and said, "The green actually becomes you the best, even though the placement gold strap does nothing for your chest."

Hermione gasped. "The last thing I want is for a nest of Death Eaters to be staring at my chest!"

Pansy couldn't help but snicker at the proposition. "You are a little prude, aren't you?"

Hermione gaped. "Do you want a group of older men, and some women, to be scrutinizing you?"

Pansy shrugged as she snatched the rest of the dresses from the Gryffindor. "Not particularly. But in case you haven't noticed, Death Eaters rely much on appearance."

Hermione scoffed. "Well I'm done for, then."

Pansy looked over from her place on the dress rack."Not when I'm done with you." She winked slyly.  
"Now put that dress on and brush through your hair-"

"Are you kidding?" Hermione interrupted.

Pansy glared, "Just do it. It's not like I'm going to leave it like that. Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted-"

"Just get on with it."

"I am!"

"Then go."

"Damn it, Granger! Just throw the dress on, brush through that rat nest of yours and go into the jewelry room next to the small bathroom where we were! Got it? You better have."

Pansy seethed out of the "closet" muttering loudly about "bitchy Gryffindors."

Hermione sighed and went back into her room. Crookshanks was washing himself on her fluffy bed. She flopped back down onto it and let the cat climb on her stomach.  
"What do you think has her knickers in a twist?" The bushy haired girl asked the orange fur ball. A small smile appeared on her face and she slowly moved to do what Pansy told her.

A/N: Next chapter has the Death Eater meeting! Expect the unexpected. Now, if you love the story, press the little button. I know you want to =) Constructive criticism = Love


	6. Fateful Meeting

A/N: Oooh! What's this? Another chapter? Think of it as my gift to you for not updating in so long. Happy(Late) Memorial Day for all my USA readers. Thank you to want more 0 and marbleandtoast for reviewing the last chapter =)

**Fateful meeting**

"There, you look passable." Pansy stated proudly, looking at Hermione. 

Hermione scowled. "Please turn me around so I can at least see what you did to me. I don't like being blind." 

Pansy smirked, but complied. Her mood had blown off a few hours ago and she knew the guests would be coming soon."So, how do you like it?" Pansy asked, knowing full well what the answer would be. No one ever complained after a full Parkinson makeover. 

"Oh wow." 

The dark girl snickered. "Surprised?" 

"Very."Hermione hadn't yet been able to tear her eyes from the mirror. She was exploring all the details of the subtle new look Pansy had given her. She was surprised to the very depths of her soul. Pansy had not gone overboard on anything. Everything shouted, Hermione, not Pansy, so for that fact, Hermione was glad. Her hair was left curly, but Pansy had spent the majority of the two hours taking each individual curl and sculpting it with mousse. Then she simply put a stasis charm on it so it wouldn't frizz or fall out. 

"Pansy, did you make my hair darker?" The Gryffindor asked, confused at the paradox she saw in the mirror. Usually, her hair was golden brown, bordering on mousy, but now it was closer to the color of  
brunette. 

"Mhm," Pansy replied," It'll be easier for our lord to notice that we are twins of we look a more alike." 

Hermione nodded. She noticed Pansy mutter a few words and suddenly her face was made up. 

Pansy laughed at Hermione's lack of emotional control. The Gryffindor princess' jaw was on the ground.  
"What? Do you think I'm wholly incapable of creating my own spells? When you do makeup every day of the year, you begin to figure out faster ways, I assure you Granger." 

"Pansy, Hermione!" 

Both girls tensed noticeably. Their mother's shrill voice could only mean one thing. 

The death eaters had arrived. 

Hermione felt her legs visibly begin to shake. Pansy put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't look anyone in the eye, don't take anything from anyone, speak when spoken to, and curtsy. If they offer you their hand, politely decline. I can't imagine anyone trying anything just yet, but if you show that trust, then that makes you an easy target." 

"Pansy, Hermione, come this instant." 

The quiet voice laced itself into the bright room making Pansy squeak and Hermione scream. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Marius Parkinson left as silently as he had come. 

Pansy fell back into a chair, "Oh Merlin, how am I descended from him?" 

After a few more seconds of hard breathing, the Gryffindor and Slytherin shared a heavy glance, stood up, and walked out of the room. 

They were quiet the entire way down the hall, but as soon as they reached the large oak doors at the end, Pansy stopped.

Hermione looked over, slightly confused. Pansy was still staring straight into the door. "Don't fuck this up Granger, I want to finish school with my life, my sanity, and my limbs all still attached."Without warning, she pushed open the doors and both girls walked down the flight.

Hermione knew she was in hell. Somehow, she had died and landed in that place. Every demon from every nightmare was walking across the floor. Mulciber, Alecto and Amycus Carrow, Doholov, Crabbe Sr., Goyle Sr., Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange, Julian Nott, Narcissa Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Lucius Malfoy. 

Hermione had to employ every Gryffindor nerve in her body not to turn tail and run. Only Merlin knew how much she wanted to. Instead, she kept her head up and took one stair at a time. She watched the Death Eaters for a reaction, but saw nothing. There was no disgust, no sneering, only a polite disinterest. Nothing was almost as bad. 

"Ah! The Miss Parkinsons have arrived, I presume," A cold voice froze in the air. Hermione's upper lip curled when she saw the owner. Lucius Malfoy had a smile of stone spread across his utterly handsome features. 

Pansy smiled just as coldly back at him. The two girls were both a head shorter than him, but that didn't stop them from acting just as imposing. 

"Mr. Malfoy," Pansy said smoothly, "It has been a while, has it not?" 

Hermione barely resisted the urge to add a comment about his recent release from Azkaban. 

The elder Malfoy's eyes didn't leave Hermione. "Yes it has, Miss Parkinson. And this curious occasion shows precisely how long I have been... Out of the loop, as some would say." 

Hearing the ever so proper man say an American phrase almost made Hermione snort. The day was getting more and more ridiculous. 

"Are you well, Miss Parkinson? Your complexion seems to have a slight  
pallor," Lucius then directed at the Gryffindor. 

She bristled at the challenge, but managed to keep her voice level. "Thank you for your concern. I feel just fine." 

Malfoy chuckled deeply then turned back to the other Death Eaters. "Are you going to be rude and not greet the Miss Parkinsons accordingly?" 

Like whipped dogs, the rest of Voldemort's inner circle crowded around Pansy and Hermione. The Gryffindor was on the verge of tears. She curtsied politely to every person as they introduced themselves. They knew she knew who they were, but Hermione knew that the reason Lucius  
had called them over all at once was to make her squirm. It was working like a charm. When Bellatrix stood inches away from her and said, "Welcome to Hell, beautiful," she almost broke down. She knew  
they could see her shake from the effort it took not to grab her wand and hex the lot of them. 

"Don't you think you're overwhelming her?" A young voice sounded from the back of the room.

The older Death Eaters looked back and saw a small group gathered at the entrance. 

Narcissa Malfoy's slender eyebrow quirked slightly, "Draco, dear, shouldn't you be at home with your friends?" 

Out of the shadows stepped the children of the Death Eaters. Leading them was Draco Malfoy. 

Surprisingly, Hermione felt relief wash through her veins. Her blood began to boil at seeing her arch enemy, so her deer in the headlights expression was completely forgotten in her sudden surge of animosity. 

Theodore Nott, the eldest of the group, stepped forward. "I know this..." He looked up at Hermione, "... This... Gathering was a requirement for the Inner Circle, but as close friend of the Parkinsons, we took it upon ourselves to greet their newest member accordingly."

The older Death Eaters all had cold sneers or passive frowns on their faces. Having their own children show up against their orders was not good at all. Julian Nott confronted his son. "Theodore, use some sense, you are not welcome here. Our Lord will not be pleased if mere children, the majority of which do not bear the mark, are present."

"Let them stay, Nott."

Pansy latched onto Hermione's hand as it darted to the wand tied to her sash. There was cold fury and pure terror combating for territory in the Gryffindor's eyes and if the darker girl let go, she didn't know what Hermione would do.

All of the Death Eaters, including all of the children, bowed low to the ground. They parted in two perfect rows as if they rehearsed daily. Hermione wouldn't doubt if they did. The front door slammed loudly even though both Parkinson girls knew it was for show. The cloaked figure had apparated into the busy entrance hall.

He moved as if his feet didn't touch the ground, smoothly and unbroken by steps. He kept his hood up, but if the groveling puppies at their feet didn't give it away, then the slender, pale hands did. The fingernails were long and curved, looking more like claws than anything human.

Pansy, quickly regaining her senses, kneeled hastily, pulling a motionless Hermione down with her.

Hermione felt a shadow pass over her and a faint smell of decay wafted into her nose making her almost gag.

"Yes, let them stay. The girls will feel much more comfortable with people their own age than the lot of you. I'm surprised I just don't get rid of you myself for a younger circle."

Hermione had her eyes closed tightly and kept her head pointed at the ground. She felt a long fingered hand press on her shoulder. Against her better judgment, she flinched.

The laugh that followed her abrupt movement sounded like nails landing in a bucket. "You truly are a precocious child. I know much about you, Miss Hermione Parkinson." He paused. "Or should I say, Granger?" He laughed again.

The Inner Circle mirrored his laugh.

"Quiet!" He hissed at the Death Eaters. "Stand up, Miss Parkinsons. I need to see if your claims are true." They stood and saw glittering white teeth through the darkness of the hood. "You know, many people can't be trusted these days. I'm inclined to believe that your claims are true. My intelligence knows that Miss Parkinson, formerly Miss Granger, would not move to the other side if not for something drastic. Or maybe she just saw the light."

As quickly as a striking snake, the Dark Lord sliced a long line down each girl's left forearm. Pansy stood stoically, but began to pale drastically. Hermione yelped in pain. Each cut began to bleed slowly, as if they were in slow motion.

The Dark Lord lovingly drew one clawed finger over Hermione's cut and tasted the blood. The Gryffindor began to shudder uncontrollably. Then, he did the same for Pansy. He stood a moment longer, as if savoring the taste of the red liquid. His eyes opened widely and he drew back his hood. He turned back to his Inner Circle and proclaimed, "They are one and the same."

A small whisper spread within the watching witches and wizards. This time, though, Voldemort didn't hush them. He let them talk.

Turning back around to face the girls, he stepped close to Hermione. "Welcome to my family, puppet. I expect you to act accordingly. If you deliberately disobey me, consequences shall be suffered. I will allow you to continue in Gryffindor, but if being my servant and a Lion proves too much, I will have you transfer to Slytherin immediately. I want you also to continue to speak with… your previous acquaintances, but let nothing Dumbledore plans escape my notice, do you understand?"

Hermione nodded fervently, but in the back of her mind, she thought, _who is supposed to be spying on whom_?

"Good," The Dark Lord continued, "Do not disappoint me, puppet."

"Miss Parkinson," He suddenly hissed, "Teach my puppet how to be a proper follower. I expect her manners to be exemplary the next time we meet." He spun around, the sweep of his robes brushing the sisters' feet.

"Young Mr. Nott!" He barked while gliding over to the young Death Eaters. Theodore Nott stood, his face completely blank.

"I know you are more than adept in the study of occlumency. Teach my puppet the art." Voldemort looked around the room and locked eyes with every person. "Her mind is to be touched by no one by me, do you understand?"

His order echoed ominously.

He mockingly bowed to the Miss Parkinsons and announced, "I take my leave of you. Good day, Puppet."

Then, he was gone, only a distant odor remaining.

A/N: *Does the review dance in anticipation of the reviews that will flood in. =) *


	7. Keep your head up

A/N: I'm back and should be back for a while! I'll be updating weekly at least until school starts. For now, a HUGE thank you to ThatRomantic for Beta-ing for me. Also thank you for everyone who reviewed the last chapter and sorry for the huge wait.

**Chapter six: Keep your Head up**

Breath in.

Those were the first two words Hermione Parkinson ever thought. Until that moment, the Gryffindor had always thought of herself as Granger, but Voldemort's vague acceptance changed that. There was no going back. To save her own neck, she had to become a Parkinson fully and completely.

There were a few moments of awkward silence, before a flustered looking Delilah spun into the room.

"Oh, my! Did I miss much? The house elves were simply abysmal this morning. Excuse my absence. Oh, Mr. Malfoy, you've returned. What a pleasant surprise!" She babbled on, looking as delighted as a bright-eyed five year old.

The other Death Eaters rolled their eyes and ignored her. To them, Mrs. Parkinson was little more than an annoying abnormality. Her bubbly, loud, chatty disposition was more befitting of a happy school girl than a Death Eater, so over the years they had learned to block her out as efficiently as one does a persistent fly.

Hermione and Pansy were not fooled and they were sure that Voldemort wasn't either. When the Gryffindor was talking with Pansy the night before, it was very clearly stated that Delilah was far more dangerous than the others took her for. No one noticed her until she had a noose around their necks.

Lucius Malfoy looked down on the little witch. His pale lips twitched in disdain. "Mrs. Parkinson. What a… pleasure… to see you. Have the elves finished our meal?"

"Of course!" she replied shrilly. "The placards have already been set and the House Elves will be serving at any moment."

Without another word, the elder Malfoy swept past her and into the dining room. Each member of the Inner Circle followed him and the apprentices entered quickly after. When Draco passed, he whispered to Hermione, "Ready for me to make your life Hell?"

The Lioness saw red, and, without really thinking about it, she stuck her foot out. The blond landed on his face with a thud and lay sprawled out in shock as everyone else passed.

Hermione, the last person, stopped before entering, "I wasn`t aware you haven't started yet."

Draco snarled up at her, wiping a little blood off of his lip. He didn`t have time to mope over his situation, though, because the vengeful Gryffindor was closing the door behind her. He sprung up and slipped into the dining hall just as the massive oak door clicked shut.

His face flushed noticeably, as almost everyone was seated and had noticed his late entrance. Hermione had a smirk on her face. Pansy leaned over to her twin and said, "Save revenge for later, Granger. We'll have plenty of time for that."

Hermione simply nodded and searched out her name card. She winced. The table was organized by rank with the Malfoys and Lestranges on the left end, tapering off to the apprentices, and ending with Hermione and Blaise Zabini. It wasn't sitting by Zabini that made her flinch, however, but the fact that every time she looked up, she would be looking directly at Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy. She took her seat and avoided looking across the table. It was far shorter than she could've wished.

"Chin up, Granger, or they'll eat you alive." A chuckle came from beside her.

"Huh?"

"Come on, you're smarter than that. You know exactly what I'm talking about." The dark eyes of Blaise Zabini twinkled in mirth.

"Easy for you to say," Hermione grumbled. "You're not being dissected mercilessly at every turn."

"Thank Merlin for that."

"Be quiet. It looks like my mother wants to say something."

"God save the Queen."

"Shut up, Zabini."

"See, you're already feeling better." His large grin made Hermione frown and look away. Zabini was a player with an impressive reputation. She dearly hoped she hadn't become his latest object.

Delilah stood up and was glancing around the table. Her mouth began to open and-

-was immediately cut off by Anton Doholov.

"Spare us, Parkinson. Frankly, we don't want to hear it."

The twin's mother smile venomously, but sat down anyway. From across the table, Hermione heard Bellatrix snigger. Immediately after, the elves came in with a handsome salad that appeared on their plates. Hermione watched the others closely, as she hadn't the faintest idea about pureblooded table manners. After Lucius took a bite, the motion was rippled down the table and the actual eating began. Idle conversations began floating around, but what Hermione heard more prominently was Crabbe and Goyle Jr. masticating their food at a disgusting and alarming rate.

"Middle fork," Blaise's baritone said next to her ear.

Hermione's head shot up. "Excuse me?"

"Remember, Granger, we aren't muggle royalty. We don't have the same silverware order. Ours goes by size, so the salad fork is the middle fork. The one you're using is for desert."

Hermione groaned. "Anything else, oh wise one?"

Blaise's left eyebrow shot up. "I'm only trying to help."

Her lips stiffened. "I don't need your pity, Zabini."

The dark Italian scoffed. "If you want to survive, amore, you'll need my pity."

A loud giggle from a few seats down interrupted them. Pansy's hand shot up to cover her mouth. Theodore Nott had a scowl on his face dark enough to rival a thunderstorm while little Malfoy had a gleeful smirk on his.

Zabini rolled his eyes. "What'd I miss this time, you three? I expect Pansy and Draco to try and draw as much attention as possible to themselves, but Theo, I expect more from you."

Theo's scowl deepened. "You sound like your mother, Zabini."

The Slytherin flinched noticeably. "Do I sound like I'm trying to hit on you? I dearly hope not?"

Draco sneered. "You dearly hope Nott does what?"

Both Theo and Blaise groaned. "Seriously, Draco, that got old by the time we were seven," Theo said.

Pansy snickered. A bicker began between Blaise and Draco, with Theo regularly putting in his input. Crabbe and Goyle Jr. continued eating like pigs. The adults scowled, smirked, and sneered in turn to suit their conversations.

Hermione felt completely and utterly out of place.

**A/N: Nothing too crazy going on yet, but hang in there. Next chapter, they're heading off to school! **


	8. Apprentice Interlude

A/N: Okay, I know I said they'd be heading back to school this chapter, but I had a quick change of plans. So for now, welcome back to Parkinson Manor!

**Chapter 7: Apprentice Interlude**

The rest of the lunch passed smoothly, too smoothly in Hermione's perspective. There had been no more confrontations, no more Malfoy initiated death-threats, and more surprisingly, no more communication between her and the Inner Circle at all. They completely ignored her for the entire hour.

Hermione had no problems with that.

Sooner rather than later, the Inner Circle decided to leave, doing nothing more than wishing Hermione well. The Gryffindor wanted to laugh when she heard that. She was Harry Potter's best friend and brain; in the past two years after Voldemort's return, they had wanted her nothing but dead.

After the initial shock of her "exhibition" had worn off, Hermione fell into an easy routine. Marius generally ignored the three ladies and Delilah was often off in town, so Pansy was left to introduce Hermione into pureblood customs. It was done with a fashionable reluctance that lessened as the days went by, leaving only a strange bond that could almost be called sisterly. Almost.

Even she usually wasn't impish, Hermione found she had too much fun lighting Pansy's extremely short fuse to resist. Pansy returned the favor every chance she got, meaning many doors were slammed and even more things thrown. Generally, though, each could make fun of the other without having it escalate.

The long, rather uneventful days were broken by only one thing. The apprentices, Malfoy, Nott, and Zabini enjoyed popping up at any random moment of the day, leaving both girls with slightly neurotic dispositions.

"You'll get used to it," Blaise chuckled one day when the trio showed up at seven-thirty in the morning, finding both girls fast asleep on Hermione's bed with a conjured television and piles of random DVD's.

"Ha. I've been putting up with this for more than seven years and I'm still not used to it. Now that you three can apparate, it's even worse," Pansy grumbled. Her cheeks were pink, but were nothing like Hermione's. The Gryffindor's cheeks were pomegranate red from being caught in her pajamas.

Theodore had been poking through the cases of movies looking fairly confused. "What are these?" He questioned.

"Those are called movies. Muggles made them for entertainment and it's like watching a story instead of reading it." Pansy explained, completely thrilled that she knew something the boys didn't.

"Like an Opera?" Draco asked, still not understanding.

Hermione knitted her eyebrows. "Not really. It's the same concept of watching a story, but there's usually no singing."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "It's some muggle thing that I will never understand. End of Story."

Draco grinned wolfishly. "That's an explanation I can live with."

"I'm not happy with that. I want to know what they do," Theodore scowled.

Pansy turned to Hermione. "Do you just want to show them one?"

Hermione's eyes twinkled. "No. I'll just let them wonder. Now shoo, I want to get dressed."

Draco sneered. "No."

"Excuse me?"

"No, I won't leave."

"Really, I think you should."

"I don't want to."

"Don't be a snot-nosed brat, Malfoy. If you deem it necessary to barge into my room at seven thirty in the morning I demand the right to kick you out."

The pale blond chuckled. "You've been teaching her well Pansy. She's well on her way to becoming as high and mighty as any pureblood."

"I promise myself never to be as infuriatingly bigoted as you, Malfoy," Hermione hissed, spinning off the bed and slamming the door into the closet.

Theo had an eyebrow raised. "I obviously missed some vital piece of information. What was that about?"

Draco smirked. "Oh, I just thought it would be fun to piss of the bookworm."

"Really mature, Draco."

"Oh, you know I'm so worried about being mature."

"You're Head Boy. You should have at least some strain of maturity."

"You're still sore about me getting Head Boy over you?"

"No."

"Of course."

"You're Head Boy?" The shriek that came from the adjoining room was so piercing that the three left in Hermione's blue room winced.

The Gryffindor burst through the door again, fully dressed in jeans and t-shirt. "Do not tell me you are Head Boy, Malfoy."

"I'm Head Boy," Draco sneered.

"Someone is trying to kill me, I swear."

"Oh, you'll live Granger."

Hermione's eyes were on fire. A loud beeping came from the clock next to her bed.

Zabini started. "It's alive!"

"It's not alive, Zabini, it's an alarm clock. I set it to go off at seven forty-five." Hermione sighed, moving to turn off the annoying sound.

An awkward silence settled.

"Umm…" Pansy shifted uncomfortably. "I'm going to go get dressed. Don't kill each other while I'm gone."

"If you get dressed as fast as Granger, you won't be gone long," Blaise chuckled.

Hermione rolled her eyes, her face still flushed from her argument with Draco. "I don't like wasting time on trivial things like getting dressed."

"Oh, we can tell."

"Draco, fighting with my sister is in my job description, not yours, so leave her alone. And trust me, her fashion sense will be much better by the time I'm done with her," Pansy called from over her shoulder as she disappeared into the closet.

Hermione groaned.

Blaise grinned. "I have to say I do feel sorry for you, Granger. Pansy can be very persistent."

The Lioness glowered. "Oh, I've definitely figured that out by now."

"Is that why every time in the past week we've come over something new has been broken?" Theodore chortled.

"I'm positive it hasn't been every time."

"Well, the afternoon of the lunch it was the vase. The day after, the mirror in the hall was missing with a few shards of glass left on the floor. Tuesday and Wednesday there were multiple things gone or obviously repaired including one of Granger's shoes, two of Pansy's books, the mirror in the makeup room was fixed and-"

"Are you a stalker Nott? I don't even remember all of those things!" Hermione exclaimed.

The Eldest Slytherin shrugged, a small smile of amusement crossing his features. "I have a photographic memory. Nothing too special."

Draco, who had been poking at the television, looked up. "Why do you think he's at the top of every Slytherin class? The only one smarter than him is you, Granger."

"Then why am I cursed with you as Head Boy?" The Gryffindor gave a half-desperate whine.

"Oh please, Granger, if you know you're precious Dumbledork at all, you'll know he wants to keep me away from bad influence."

Hermione laughed. "I think he's a little late for that."

Blaise sat down on Hermione's bed. "No words of defense for Dumbledore? I'm surprised, Granger. After berating us endlessly on the virtues of Potter and Weasel, ahem, Weasley, I would've thought you'd jump to defend him."

Hermione paused, a sour expression darkening her face. "He can defend himself, the self-righteous-"

She stopped herself before her internal thoughts spilled out.

The three boys all glanced between them. They hadn't expected the Lioness' opinion of their Headmaster to have changed so drastically.

"Well, what I meant to say was-"

"I think we all heard very well what you were saying, Granger," Theodore remarked when Hermione tried to restate her thought.

"What brought on the change of heart?" Blaise questioned.

Hermione sighed. "Dumbledore has his own agenda. He always has, but now I'm seeing firsthand that he doesn't care about what happens to the people in his plan as long as the ultimate goal is carried out. I don't want to be just a stupid pawn. If I'm going to do something, it's going to be bigger than what he has planned."

Another silence settled.

Draco snorted. "Gryffindor."

"What?" Hermione asked.

"I completely agree." Theo chuckled.

"Really. What are you talking about?"

"It's not like we haven't figured it out before. She'd their bloody Empress which could only mean she's the epitome of Gyffindor," Blaise added.

"You three are infuriating."

"I know, aren't they?" Pansy chuckled, while she swished back into the room in a bright pink dress.

"I know they're talking about me, but I still haven't figured out why," Hermione scowled.

"You're thickheaded, hellcat. I only heard the last little bit and already know," Pansy snickered.

"Well, would anyone _dream_ of enlightening me?"

"You have knight-in-shining-armor syndrome like every Gryffindor. It's probably the quality the hat looks for when it sorts you." Theodore finally explained.

"I can agree with that." Hermione shrugged.

"What?" The four Slytherins started.

"I always tell Harry and Ron the same exact thing even though they always deny it. We really do and trust me, it becoming maddening after a while."

"If it becomes maddening then I can see why Pansy always seems to be throwing things at you."

A book flew at Draco's head.

"Shit Granger, how fast can you conjure those things." He yelped.

"Well, I don't need a wand."

"Impressive," Blaise said.

"Oh, I've had plenty of practice."

As the days went on and school drew nearer, the strange alliance between Hermione and the other four grew. She became accustomed to tagging along on their various escapades, laughing at Blaise, fighting with Draco, and talking with Theo and Pansy. But when time for school shopping in Diagon Alley came, Parkinson Manor nearly burned down.

"What do you mean I can't go to Diagon Alley?"

"Sit down this instant young lady."

"You don't let me send a single owl in the past two weeks to Harry or Ron and now you're not even letting me go shopping? What type of household is this?"

"I said sit down."

The silky voice was accompanied by a gust of wind that knocked Hermione onto the ground.

Hermione hissed up at her father, but didn't say anything.

"I said no and that is final, Hermione Jean Parkinson. Pansy is not going this year either. If I assume correctly, she is probably in her mother's suites in very much the same position as you. It is too dangerous. With Voldemort on the rise, any pureblood is targeted on the street, especially ones with as much power as us. The Zabinis are not going. The Notts are not going. The Greengrasses, Goyles, and Crabbes are not going. The only ones that are are the Malfoys. They are the only ones who have some sort of protection."

"But wouldn't that look even more suspicious?"

Marius Parkinson massaged the bridge of his nose. "I guess I should tell you the danger. Last week Astoria and Daphne went on an errand run for their mother in Diagon Alley. All they needed to do was get a few bolts of cloth and some candy for themselves when five Aurors surrounded them."

"The Aurors wouldn't hurt them!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Let me finish, child. Shaklebolt, Lupin, Tonks, Scrimgeour and Moody surrounded them and wouldn't let them continue shopping. Daphne demanded to know why and even though they didn't specify, they stated that the girls were in danger. Daphne, the obstinate girl, tried to break out of their circle, but failed. The sewing shop they were going to enter suddenly went up in flames.

"No one was hurt because other Aurors had ushered everyone out of the store in time, but Daphne and Astoria were pretty badly shaken. I will not let something happen to my children and the other purebloods won't either."

"That's ridiculous… the Greengrasses aren't Death Eaters are they?" Hermione asked cautiously.

Marius glowered. "They are, but it hardly matters. In Ireland, purebloods are already being targeted even though there are next to none that live there. A family that has Hufflepuff relatives, for Merlin's sake has already lost two members to attacks. The paranoia is already reaching parts of Europe. Once again, I will put neither you nor Pansy in any danger."

Hermione sighed deeply and stood up. "I think I understand. Being on the other side of the line, I guess I didn't know that Purebloods were having so many problems too."

The dark man looked down as his daughter. "We are all mortal, Hermione."


	9. Don't let daddy know

A/N: *Slowly comes out of Fall Hibernation and looks around* Wait, what? It's Christmas already? Well, I haven't abandoned you all yet! So, MERRY CHRISTMAS! Here's a special present =) In this chapter, the apprentices get into some mischief.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 8:

"Pssst… Hermione"

Silence.

"Granger… wake up."

Still silence.

"Seriously, sleeping this deeply is not safe, Granger."

A soft moan came from the pile of covers.

A yowl came from a corner of the dark room followed by a loud curse, "Damn cat!"

"SHH! Draco!"

"Pansy, do not chastise me."

"Do you even know what chastise means, you dolt?"

"I was wondering the same thing."

"What the hell is going on?"

Hermione sat up straight in her bed, looking around the room at the four other faces. The only light in the room was given by the clock which glowed 1:47 am. She drew the covers up around her shoulders and shivered. The summer had been surprisingly cold and that night was no exception.

"Be quiet, Granger," Blaise cautioned as he peered nervously at the Gryffindor's door.

"What are, what the, just what is going on here?" The bleary eyed girl peered questioningly at the faces, a coherent sentence barely forming on her lips.

"Looks like we're going shopping after all, Hermione," Pansy beamed.

Hermione groaned. "That's it? And this couldn't have possibly waited until a reasonable time?"

Pansy rolled her eyes. "For one so smart, you sure don't have much common sense. We have to leave now if we want to do anything."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up. "Somehow, I think that Mother knows nothing about this."

Pansy smirked. "What makes you think that? It's Father that can't get a whiff of this."

The Gryffindor sunk back into her sheets. "There's no point. Go back to bed." She attempted to bury herself in the soft blankets, but a with a mumbled _petrificus totalus _she found herself unable to move.

The dark twin smirked and sat on the edge of the bed while the other twin glared daggers at her. "Listen, Granger. You don't have much choice in the matter. We're going whether you like it or not. Frankly, I don't want you rifling through my clothes all the time, so you need to get your own stuff. Also, if you promise to be a good Hellcat, we can stop at a bookstore before we leave."

Deftly reversing the spell, Pansy stood up again, "It's not hard to see how everyone will benefit from this."

Hermione's face was set in a deep frown. "I already said no. This is stupid and if our father catches us…" She paused and looked around the dark room. "Well, I don't know what he would do, but I'm sure it won't be good. He lay down the law and I will abide by it."

Draco scoffed, "Really, Granger, that's pathetic reasoning. You can't deny that you've broken curfew a thousand times with Potter."

"Well, Malfoy, those were for a good cause-"

"Good is a subjective word."

"I don't want to hear it. It's far too early in the morning to argue with anyone. Why are you three even bothering with Pansy's madness?" The young woman sighed and sat up. Her mind had already woken up, so there was no way she was going to fall back asleep quickly. She tried to take in her surroundings in the limited light. Draco was standing at Pansy's side at the foot of Hermione's dark blue bed, while Theo was pacing by the sliding glass door that led to her little veranda. Finally, Blaise was standing by the main door. His eyes kept darting into the hallway nervously as if he was waiting for someone to walk in at any minute.

"Pansy's madness is our madness, Granger. If she wants to go shopping in the dead of night, she can. We're in because she obviously needs someone to protect her."

"Protect me? I am seventeen years old. I hardly need your protection," The female slytherin scowled.

"It doesn't really matter the reason why. We just do," Theodore shrugged. "What kind of friends would we be if we didn't?"

Hermione sighed. "This is ridiculous."

"What is?" Blaise asked, his eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"I'm considering going along with this. No! I can't. This is madness," Hermione put her hands over her eyes and rubbed. "No. No. No."

"Do you need some more persuading?" Pansy mischievously grinned.

"The last thing I need is for you to persuade me," Hermione scowled.

Pansy's grin widened. "I was hoping you'd say that."

A brief "what?" had barely escaped Hermione's lips when Draco's wand had been whipped out and Hermione fell unconscious onto the bed.

Pansy's lips pursed. "Sorry, darling, but you didn't have much choice in the matter."

Loud noises filtered into Hermione's head.

"Is she awake yet? You really didn't have to put that much force into your stupefy you dolt!"

"You know I've wanted to do that for years."

"Of course, but it still was rude, I cast an enervate on her ten minutes ago."

For the second time that night, the lone Gryffindor's head lifted and she blinked blearily. Except, it wasn't night anymore. The sun was still high in the sky, though it had already begun its decent into the sea.

The sea?

A jolt of electricity shot through Hermione and she leapt up. Where the hell was she? "Pansy Parkinson!" Hermione's eyes smoldered. "I thought I expressively said I wanted to take no part in your mad schemes."

Pansy, who at first had been relieved that her sister had finally woken up, now looked very sheepish. "You said you were considering going."

"I said no! Don't you hear a word that comes out of my mouth?" Hermione seethed.

Pansy's impish demeanor evaporated and she scowled. "Don't even get me started, Granger. I'm not here to put up with your shit. If you are going to be an ungrateful little bitch, then you can walk home."

"If I knew where home was, I'd be happy to oblige you, your highness."

The twins were now nose to nose, their identical honey colored eyes daring the other to back down first. Pansy's mouth opened to toss more insults at Hermione, but Blaise bravely slipped in between the bickering siblings.

"Caras, caras, stop making a scene. As _lovely_ as this filthy, pest ridden dock is, I would like to go into the city. We only have a few hours before Marius gets up."

Hermione hissed at Pansy one more time before letting Blaise lead the darker skinned twin away. "I just have one more thing to do before we can get going." Hermione added. She sauntered up to where Theo and Draco were tapping their feet impatiently. With a large smile, her right hand swung out and cracked against Malfoy's cheek.

"Filthy Mudblooo-"Draco's voice trailed off realizing his mistake. He couldn't call her a mudblood anymore. "Fucking witch." He corrected himself.

"That's for hexing me, Malfoy," Hermione said, a grin still on her face "And your insults could be a little more original." With a little bounce in her step, she hurried to catch up with Blaise and Pansy. Theo began to laugh at Malfoy's glower. "I think she's too tough for you, Draco."

"Shut up Theo," The blonde touched his cheek tenderly. "Hey, wait for us!"

They had to jog to reach the other three and by the time they reached them, they had nearly reached the nearest street. Then Hermione remembered something.

"Wait! You're all in robes and I'm in my…" Hermione blushed crimson. "In my pajamas still."

Theo looked around. "Good catch, Granger…Parkinson… Have you decided which you've wanted to be called yet?"

Momentarily distracted from their actual dilemma, the young woman in question shrugged. "I am a Parkinson, so I'll probably go by that, but I won't enforce it."

Nott nodded. "We should probably just transfigure our clothing until we get to the wizarding area."

Pansy opened her mouth as if she were going to say something, but closed it again just as quickly. She wasn't spilling anything while there was a chance she could see all of their shocked faces.

They changed their clothes quickly and kept on their way. They finally broke onto a busy street.

"Fisherman's Wharf… wait, are we in San Francisco?" Hermione had to do a double take. "Muggle San Francisco?"

Pansy shrugged, but her knowing smile gave it all away. "Of course, Hellcat. Where else could we go at this time of the night in England? Los Angeles is far too crowded, Hawaii doesn't have a good enough shopping district, and Seattle is just…" She shuddered. "Eww…"

Blaise turned to Theo. "Before last night, I didn't know half of the towns she just named existed."

Theo smirked before asking Pansy. "So what are we going to do? Do you know where the Wizard Quarter is?"

Pansy smiled at him brightly. "You see, San Francisco is a very unique town. It has no Wizard Quarter immediately connected to it. If we wanted to go to the Wizard Quarters, we'd have to Floo from Alcatraz. The Quarter itself is on the Peninsula past the bridge. But we aren't going there. At least not today."

The other four gaped at her. "What?"

"Rather, we're going shopping in the muggle district. Do not look at me like that. Muggles do not bite. Draco Malfoy, put that finger down. And even though you don't have the common decency to say thank you, Hermione, you're welcome."

There would have been an awkward silence surrounding all of them if silence had been an option, but the vast numbers of people walking near them kept the noise level fairly high.

Finally, Hermione broke out of her trance. "Thank you! I love San Francisco. I haven't been here for years though! Oh my, Pansy. You are simply amazing."

"So you've forgiven me for dragging you along?"

"Oh, I had already forgiven you the moment I slapped Draco."

"Nice to know I'm the catalyst for your friendly relations."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Pansy beamed, grabbing one of Blaise's arms and one of Draco's. "Hermione, you keep an eye on the four-year old."

Hermione looked at Theo. He was staring at all the muggle fashions and cars. His eyes seemed a little bit glazed over. Hermione chuckled a little. For a wizard going into the muggle world for only the second or third time, San Francisco was definitely culture shock. "Nott. Come on, Pansy is determined to leave anyone who can't keep up behind."

"Oh. Okay." Nott said, snapping out of it. "So where are we going to go?"

"To the shopping district. To get there takes a little time, though. We have to take a trolley."

"What's a trolley?" Nott asked, his dark eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"You'll see."

About three hours later found three utterly exhausted boys and two giggling and elated girls squished on a bench watching the sun finally sink into the ocean. Hermione was in the center of the bench with Pansy and Draco on her left and Theo and Blaise on her right. The twins in the middle were free of bags, but the boys were completely covered.

"Pansy, I can't believe I just spent that much. I feel so guilty." Hermione admitted, her cheeks turning red.

Pansy just laughed. "Darling, you're one of the richest purebloods around; money will never be an issue again."

"Speaking of money," Blaise cut in, "Nice going at the restaurant, Draco. That poor muggle looked so confused when you handed him that pile of galleons."

"Well, not a single one of you noticed until he asked if I had dollars. I'm completely innocent."

"Oh, just as innocent as a baby lamb, I'm sure," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Hey Theodore, how are you holding up. You looked positively green after the trolley rides," Pansy looked at the older boy.

"I did not."

"Oh, just admit it, Dora."

"For the last time, do not call me Dora."

"Well, stop acting like a girl."

"Be nice Malfoy."

"Shut up, Granger, you're not in this."

"Well I am now."

"Well, you can get right back out."

"Will both of you can it? I'm trying to take a nap. By the time we get back, it'll already be five." Blaise said, lazily opening one of his eyes.

Hermione stood up. "We should probably get going then. We were just waiting for the sun to set anyway-" Her sentence was cut off by a massive yawn. "So when is the international port-key set to go off, Pansy?"

Pansy looked in her purse. "Umm.. pretty soon. I think I had it set for 8:30." She pulled out a small replica of the golden gate bridge. "Yes, here it is. And there is another 3 minutes. I totally forgot about it."

"Come on, we need to get somewhere out of the sight of muggles," Draco said, standing up and helping Pansy up in the process. They all quickly evacuated the area and in a few minutes they swirled away from the American West coast.

They landed more or less gracefully in Pansy's room. The sun was beginning to peek out from behind her heavy velvet curtains. The lack of sleep was finally beginning to catch up with them. Depositing the numerous bags on the floor, the three boys said their goodbye's.

"So, I guess we'll see you on the train tomorrow," Blaise said.

"That is, if we don't end up crashing something of yours today," Draco smirked.

"I was planning until sleeping until two this afternoon, thank you very much." Theo chuckled. "So count me out of anything."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "You've never been able to get out of anything Theo. But no, I don't think we'll be seeing you for the rest of today."

"Okay then, see you tomorrow."

Soon after, the two girls were fast asleep in their beds.

A pair of glowing red eyes watched them with interest.

A/N: I'm glad I'm back. Now, as far as I know, I should be updating a lot sooner. Next Chapter: Harry and Ron make their entrance.


	10. It's good to be back

A/N: Hello again! Just a quick thanks to Whispering-Lestrange, acast, and for reviewing. Reviews always make my day and prod me to update faster =)

Disclaimer- I own nothing. I am a starving artist in training with nothing but my plot bunnies to keep me company.

**Chapter Nine**- **It's good to be back**

The morning of September 1st, Hermione rose with the sun. Her heart was pumping erratically and she felt unnaturally giddy as she thought of returning to school.

School! Her mind was whirring. She could get out of the manor with its strict rules and etiquette. She could wear whatever she wanted without Pansy breathing down her neck. She could laugh raucously and not care what her mother would say. Most of all, she could see Harry and Ron again. The lack of her two best friends had been a gaping hole in her heart over the past two weeks.

Still, she thought, the past two weeks hadn't been hell on earth. True, it had been pretty close to that at some points, but as time wore on, the pain had subsided into a dull ache. Somehow, she had managed to find a friend in Pansy. It was strange for the lioness. She was so used to being with boys all the time that it was almost a relief to have a sister. Sometimes, boys were just far too clueless.

Hermione opened her door cautiously, wanting to muffle the click it made, but sure enough, a quarter of the way open, a creak echoed down the hall. She flinched slightly, but slipped out anyway and made her way to the bathroom. The first thing she did was start filling the tub. When home, she was usually a shower person, finding it much quicker and easier, but she decided since she had plenty of extra time, she would treat herself.

Slipping in to the ever warm water, one of the many perks of living in a magical manor, she let her mind wander again.

As much as it surprised her to admit, Pansy wasn't the only one she had found a connection with. Their mother was frankly, a sane Bellatrix Lestrange, but she had a sense of humor and Hermione liked seeing her verbally spar with their father. Also, their father at least cared about their wellbeing. As for the three boys…

Hermione wasn't quite sure what to think of them. She really enjoyed the company of Blaise. He was nothing like she would expect a Slytherin to be. A small smirk appeared on her face. Maybe that was why so many girls were falling for him left and right. He was suave and funny, with a perfectly placed smile. He was calm and always laughing and kissing girls on the cheek. Hermione blushed slightly at the latter. Being the perfectly British girl she was, seeing the customs the half African/half Italian boy was different, but extremely interesting.

Her mind switched to Theo. Unlike Blaise, he was quiet and reserved. He didn't smile often, but when he did, it lit up the room. He was impressively smart, maybe even up to her standards of the word, and had a glimmer in his eye whenever he was curious. Which, Hermione noticed, was most of the time. Of the three, Theodore Nott was the closest thing to being a mystery and the lioness was determined to figure him out. She would have plenty of time to if he was going to teach her occlumency like Voldemort had mandated.

As for Draco Malfoy… Hermione scowled darkly. There weren't many changed feelings there. He was still a stuck-up, bigoted, purist, UGH! He messed with her mind so much that she, Hermione Gr-Parkinson, couldn't even think of adjectives to describe him. She sighed. Why hadn't she thought of him first? Then she could've enjoyed the remainder of her bath in peace, but no, he had to ruin her peaceful state of mind. She had to shake herself out of it. Starting that very night, she was going to have to _live_ with the git.

She got out of the tub and got dressed in a black, knee-length skirt, white blouse and red vest. She was head girl, so had to show Hogwart's spirit to the brand new first years. It was a fairly generic ensemble, but it was still appropriate for someone of her position.

"Hermione! Get your ass out of there. You're not the only one living here, you know."

Pansy's cynical voice cut into the previous silence of the bathroom.

"We have two other bathrooms, Pansy, why do you want this one?' Hermione called back.

"Because I have all of my hair supplies in here. Speaking of which, we aren't leaving until you look pristine."

"Is that why you're up at," Hermione paused to look at a clock, "Six-thirty?"

"Yes, and you should be thanking me. Now, get out," Pansy growled.

" Someone's not a morning person," Hermione mumbled under her breath.

"I can't believe you haven't figured that out by now!" Pansy exclaimed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

The Gryffindor opened the door and rolled her eyes as Pansy swept in. "Good morning to you too."

"This is no time for pleasantries, Hell Cat. This is our last first day of school. We have to look stunning. Speaking of which, you look… passable. Except the skirt has to be changed."

"Worry about it later Pansy. Don't you still have to pack?"

"Yes. But it takes me half-an-hour at the very most. I've already separated what I want to take."

"Procrastinator."

"Yes, now go brush out your hair. I'll be out in… 35 minutes. Shoo!" Pansy closed the door in Hermione's face.

"You're hopeless," Hermione said through the wood.

"I've been told."

Four hours go by quickly when you have someone who's fawning over your every action, and so it was for Hermione. She couldn't deny that all of Pansy's hair pulling, wardrobe modifying, trunk stacking, make-up fussing hadn't paid off. She did look good. Extremely good, according to Pansy.

Hermione took one last look at herself in the mirror. Pansy had redone the darkening charm on her hair and curled it magically. She had also done a light makeup charm on her face. The most drastic difference, though, was her clothing. Pansy had struck again and this time with a skirt that was shorter. Hermione didn't like it, but there was little she could do. Pansy was a whizz with charms and a master of hemming. Every time she came back out with a new skirt, Pansy would whip out her wand and before Hermione could utter a counter-spell, it would be about three inches shorter than it had been the moment before.

She waved her wand in the direction of her trunks and they shrunk. Kneeling down, she scooped them up and she put them in the pocket of her cloak.

The gryffindor took one last look at her room before apparating away.

Hermione landed on the edges of the frantic bustling that was Kings Cross station. It seemed everyone was there from the seventh years who looked like they owned the place to the tiny first years who were staring around in amazement.

She appeared by a first year who was dawdling at the edges of the crowd. He was obviously muggleborn from the glances he was casting at the magic that was happening all around. When Hermione had apparated in, he had jumped up and squealed.

"Y-Y-You came out of nowhere!" He exclaimed looking at Hermione incredulously.

She smiled down at the cute little boy. "I'm sorry if I scared you. Can I assume you're muggleborn?"

The little boy looked confused and she remembered that she hadn't understood at first either.

"Do you have two normal parents or is one of them a wizard?"

"They're both normal. But how did you do that? You came out of the wall!"

Hermione chuckled. "It's called apparating, you'll learn it when you're seventeen. So, what's your name?"

"Nathaniel Potts, miss."

"I'm Hermione Granger, your head girl. It was nice meeting you Nathaniel. I hope you have fun at Hogwarts, it's an amazing place."

She left the little blonde boy on the outskirts of the crowd and dove in. She had to find Pansy before they got on the train. The dark twin had forgotten one of her trunks in the jewelry Room and Hermione needed to give it back to her.

"Hey Hell Cat, over here."

Pansy's voice rose over the crowd and Hermione felt herself involuntarily smile as she fell into her place at Pansy's side, where she'd been for the past two weeks.

"Do you have it?" Pansy asked, eyes wide.

"Have what?" Hermione said, forgetting her mission momentarily. "Oh! Your trunk. Yes, I have it."

She pulled the shrunken object from her pocket and handed it to Pansy who enlarged it almost immediately. She set it with her ten other trunks.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Pansy, everyone knows you're filthy rich. You don't have to keep all of your trunks enlarged just to show the fact."

Pansy smirked deviously. "That's beside the point. The real question is why aren't you following my lead? You're a -"

"Parkinson, social elite. There's no need to be stringent," Hermione finished for her twin. "I've heard it a thousand times, Pansy. But, my common sense prevails in that aspect. I don't need to have a bunch of poor boys carry my things around for me if I can just shrink them."

"Oh! But having them carry our things around is the fun part."

Hermione chuckled. Taking advantage of Pansy's audacity, she sat on one of the massive trunks, her legs dangling off. Her sharp brown eyes searched and searched for two certain people, but she couldn't find them anywhere. She assumed they were probably running late again. She hoped that they wouldn't miss the train as it would leave within the next five minutes. She looked over at Pansy who had a similar look of searching worry on her face. None of the Slytherin boys had appeared yet either.

"Boys. What are we going to do with them," Hermione chuckled, turning her eyes back to the crowd.

Pansy only made an intelligible noise then said. "Hey Hermione."

Hermione didn't turn toward her sister. "Yes?" she answered absent mindedly.

The Slytherin continued, "Just because we're twins doesn't mean that anything at school will change."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Frankly, I was hoping you'd say that. I, for one, would hate to be expelled for fighting."

"Good."

"Good."

There was silence between the two.

"And 'Mione…"

"What, Pansy?"

If Hermione had looked at Pansy, she would have seen a mischevious smirk creep onto the darker twin's face.

"No matter what, you'll always be a bitchy know-it-all."

The Head Girl's head snapped around to see a full blown smile directed at her.

"And you'll always be a histrionic pug."

Pansy snickered. "I'm glad we understand each other, Hellcat."

Hermione laughed. "Ditto, snakey."

"Snakey? Wow Hermione. People give you too much credit in regards to your intelligence."

The very end of Pansy's sentence was interrupted by a loud screech of joy from Hermione. The Gryffindor twin leapt down from the trunk in such a rush that it fell over, gaining a hiss from Pansy.

But Hermione didn't notice. Her eyes were glued on two figures that had just appeared on the platform.

"Harry! Ron! Harry! Ron!" She didn't even care if she was making a scene highly inappropriate for a Head Girl to make. She hadn't seen her two best friends for more than a month and hadn't talked to them for two whole weeks. The hole that had been in her heart was suddenly filled again. She rushed the two boys and jumped them.

Harry was the one who caught her and he started laughing. Hermione had her head buried in his shoulder. "Merlin's beard, Hermione. It hasn't been years, you know."

She pulled out of the embrace and said, "You have no idea how much I've missed you."

She attacked Ron next with another giant hug. The tall redhead chuckled. "Well, I think we know now. By the way, 'Mione, if you were so desperate for us, why didn't you owl or come visit? And how come we didn't see you in Diagon? I would've thought for certain that you would've been there."

Hermione decided she was done strangling the boys and stepped back a little. "Well, it's kind of a long story. I can tell you once we're on the train. Speaking of which, we should get going."

She grabbed each of their hands and led them like two little children to where Pansy was. She remembered she had left her cloak lying on one of the trunks. By that time, Blaise, Theo and Draco were already there helping Pansy shrink her belongings back down.

Not even thinking about it, she let go of Harry and Ron's hands and ambled over to hug Theo and Blaise, the latter returning her greeting with a kiss on the cheek. She only gave Draco a tiny nod. "Pansy? Have you seen my cloak? I left it lying here somewhe-"

Suddenly, Ron's incredulous voice rose over hers. "What the hell is going on?"


	11. Sometimes, Safety Isn't an Option

A/N: Happy end of Valentine's day week (I was hoping to get this up by the actual day, but that obviously failed xP). I hope it was filled with Happiness, if nothing else =) Also, HUGE thank yous to voldyismyfather, acast, and Lacerta-Casseopea-Black. YOU MAKE ME SMILE!

Discaimer: I own nothing. Not even my computer. So, I will assume I do not own anything associated with Harry Potter. (Not even the Harry Potter snuggie that I wanted for Christmans. =D)

Chapter 10: Safety isn't an option

Hermione froze where she was standing. For a few seconds, she couldn't even breathe. What had she been thinking? Harry and Ron didn't know anything! They _hated_ at least two of the four people that were standing there in front of them at that very moment.

Unfortunately for the petrified Hermione, Draco had to be relishing in the moment. "Oh. I see you haven't told them _Parkinson_." He stressed Hermione's last name.

"What the Hell does Parkinson have to do with this, Malfoy?" Ron seethed, his blue eyes wide with confusion.

Harry grabbed Ron's arm as the taller boy stepped forward. "We don't need to start the school year with a fight." He hissed quietly.

Snapping back to reality, Hermione's mind started whirring. She snatched her jacket up and growled at Malfoy, "No I haven't, but that doesn't mean that you have to terrorize them." She had heard Ron's comment, but it was neither the time nor place for explanations.

Malfoy's wolfish grin spread. "Au contraire, Princess."

The train whistle blew loudly, echoing around the mostly empty platform. Draco checked his fingernails lazily and continued, "As much as I simply _adore_ this verbal sparring, darling, I have to get on the train. As you must know, I am Head Boy and have duties to attend to."

Hermione's brown eyes lit on fire, but she said nothing. She was afraid that what would come out of her mouth wouldn't be worth the repercussions. Instead, she gave a quick nod to the Apprentices and stalked off, Ron and Harry hot on her heels.

"Hermione! Wait up," Harry called out.

The dark haired girl spun around and snapped "What?"

Harry and Ron stopped in their tracks. Hermione stopped and took a deep breath. Putting her head in her hands she slid to the floor of the empty train corridor. The train began to move. Slowly, Ron sat down by her. Harry quickly followed.

Hermione, face still in her hands, mumbled. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's just that that bastard has pushed so many of my buttons that I'm afraid I'm going to do something stupid and get my position stripped. You can't imagine how hard everything this summer has been. Finally, I think I'm free from this living Hell and BAM I remember I had to live with him! It's purely ridiculous."

Ron took her hand and said, "'Mione, I hate to barge in on your ranting, but I think it would be helpful if we knew what your personal problems were."

Hermione's mouth had been half open, as she was starting to say something else, but as Ron spoke, she closed it. She still hadn't told them. How was she supposed to tell them? Oh, by the way, I'm a double agent who just happens to be being used by both Voldemort and Dumbledore for the same purpose. Oh yes, I'm also the twin of Pansy Parkinson, making me a pureblooded princess. My mother is a Death Eater, my father might as well be a Death Eater. Some of the apprentices aren't so bad, but it really doesn't matter, because we're all going to be Death Eater's someday…

"Hermione, snap out of it. Is it really that hard to explain?" Harry asked, his green eyes sparkling with sympathy. He had been watching Hermione's face and saw it move from sadness to despair. She truly was lost for words, something he thought was impossible for the girl.

"You don't even know anything. Why didn't I tell you sooner?"

"You still haven't told us, 'Mione." Ron chuckled.

The small girl sighed. "Help me up. We should find a compartment first."

Harry complied quickly. Hermione could tell that he was anxious to know what was going on. She knew she would be acting the same way if she were him.

They quickly found their way to a compartment near the edges of the loud, rambunctious Gryffindor… mess. Hogwarts' Head Girl had no other word for it. The Gryffindors were always running around being as obnoxious as they possibly could. And she absolutely loved it. She would never have chosen differently.

The moment Hermione closed the door, she whipped out her wand and cast a silencing charm over the small area. She'd have to tell everyone eventually, but now was hardly the time.

The Gryffindor sat down on one of the seats, tucking her legs under her. She looked out the window, afraid to see the faces of her best friends as she unraveled her tale. "First, you have to promise that you won't interrupt me for anything. You have to know the whole story before asking any questions."

Both boys agreed heartily.

She stole a quick look at the boys before continuing. "I'll have to start at the beginning for you to understand anything. At the beginning of our fifth year, my parents told me that I was adopted."

"Adopted!" Ron's voice exclaimed.

Hermione braced herself for the impending storm. She had barely even started and they were already interrupting. "Yes, Ron, adopted. But, they were the people that raised me and cared for me. I didn't care about knowing who my birth parents were. There was also the fact that Cedric was dead and the Dark Lord had risen. There were so many problems that faced the three of us, it hardly mattered who had given birth to me. So, I omitted it. In fact, I think I even forgot for a while."

Hermione's voice grew quieter. "But at the end of last year, Dumbledore pulled me aside to inform me that I had been chosen for head girl. His congratulations barely even registered though."

Harry cut in. "He told you who your birth parents are, didn't he."

Hermione looked into Harry's bright green eyes. She knew that he had already figured it out, but she continued anyway. "Yes, Harry. It turns out I'm not a mudblood-"

She saw both boys wince at the word "-or even a half-blood."

"You're a Parkinson, as pureblooded as they come," Harry finished for her.

"Yah, and about as inbred as they come." Ron muttered. Suddenly, realization dawned in his eyes. "Oh bloody Hell! You're a Parkinson, Hermione? Forget what I just said."

Hermione's face broke into a huge smile. If there was someone that could make any situation funny, it would be Ron. "Maybe you should learn to listen a little better, Ron."

The redhead's face was burning with embarrassment, so he tried to push the conversation away from himself. "Merlin's Beard Hermione. A Parkinson? That means you're related to Pansy!"

The lone girl nodded. "She's my twin sister."

Harry's eyebrows knitted in confusion. "You two look nothing alike."

Hermione shrugged, sighing as she sank deeper into the cushions. "I didn't think so at first, but now I'm seeing a few things. We have the same exact eyes. And our hair is the same."

Ron gave her a dubious look. "Parkinson has straight hair. And Mione, you've dyed yours the same color."

Hermione blushed slightly at the second comment. "Okay, you're right on the second one, but Pansy doesn't actually have straight hair. It's just as bad as mine, but she's had magic her entire life to tame it and make it bend to her will."

Harry chuckled slightly, "Well, it looks like it's rubbed off slightly."

Hermione nervously played with a few longer strands. "Stop it you two. We need to get back on topic. So, you're just going to take this? No comment?"

Ron smiled brightly at her. "You haven't changed at all Hermione. You're just confusing us and surprising us like normal."

Hermione's face broke into a massive grin. She flew over to the other side of the compartment and sat between the boys. She hooked her arm with Ron's and laid her head on Harry's shoulder. "It wasn't terrible, despite all the madness. Pansy and I actually get along most of the time, though we do argue a lot. And the other apprentices aren't bad, other than Malfoy. I still want to wring his neck most of the time."

Harry looked down at her. "I could definitely tell. You did scare me for a bit when you _hugged_ Zabini and Nott, though." He shuddered slightly. "I think my jaw nearly hit the floor."

"You weren't alone," Ron cut in. I think everyone was still on the platform was just as flabbergasted."

Hermione's head shot up. "You mean I made a scene?" Her eyes sparkled with worry.

"Hardly, Mione," Harry said. "But there were a few heads turned."

She groaned. "Just what I need, people gossiping before they know the truth."

"You'll be okay. When were you planning on announcing it?" Ron asked.

Hermione scoffed, her head drifting back down to Harry's shoulder. "I'm hardly going to announce it. You'll have to be ready for a riot in the Great Hall tonight, though. When Dumbledore announces Malfoy and I at the Welcome Feast, he's going to say Hermione Parkinson and all Hell will break loose."

Ron winced. "Is that really the smartest idea?"

Hermione looked at the redhead sideways. "When did you start worrying about whether something would be a smart idea or not?"

Ron blushed. "I do sometimes. I'm not a complete Neanderthal."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I do wonder… Oh Merlin… is it really that bad of an idea?"

"It makes sense to me," Harry commented nonchalantly. Hermione could tell his mind was working overtime to process all of this information. "If it wasn't told all at once, then it would spread around the school anyway and with every telling, become more twisted."

Hermione sighed. "That's why Dumbledore and I decided on this course of action. All the Professors will be there to calm them down as well. And I've been through worse than a hundred confused teenagers. When I met the Inner Circle I thought I was going to die for sure!"

Silence met her comment. Hermione's head shot up again and she met two sets of slightly unfocused looking eyes. She was used to Ron looking at her with a similar expression, but Harry?

Then realization dawned on her. She had mentioned her meeting with the Inner Circle.

She twitched nervously. "Harry? Please, please tell me what's going through your head at this moment."

The boy in question moved his hand through his raven hair and sighed. "If I understand you correctly, I assume you said, Inner Cirlce, right?"

Hermione scowled. "Don't play stupid with me Harry Potter."

Harry continued. "I don't really know what to say." He shrugged. "Obviously you made it through alive…"

"Damn it, Mione! The Inner Circle? Did they hurt you in any way? Why in the name of Merlin's left-"

"Ron!" Hermione cried out, shocked at his language.

The redhead finished his sentence with only a slight amdenment "…pinky finger… did you have to meet the Inner Circle?"

Hermione felt the tension in the room increase. This was the reaction she had been expecting throughout the whole morning. "I don't really have a choice, Ron. In the family I'm in, the Inner Circle comes for _casual luncheons_ every weekend. And they didn't hurt me. I guess I'm considered one of them now, whether they like it or not."

"… Do you have the dark mark?" Ron whispered.

Hermione paused, turned to look straight at him and began to laugh. "Really, Ron! I've been there for two weeks! Do you really believe that they will give a resistance fighter who just happens to be part of the family the Dark Mark? No. Pansy explained this to me. She said only a select few actually have the mark, because those that do have access to certain places that Voldemort doesn't want just anyone getting in to."

"None of that means that you're safe Hermione," Harry said.

Hermione rubbed her eyes for a second. She was hoping to omit some facts, but it looked like she was going to have to tell all. "No, that's not the reason I'm safe." She had to word this extremely carefully. If Voldemort decided to have a peek at her memories… he wouldn't be very pleased. "You see… they need me. I am a link, per say, to the side of the school that they previously had to connection to. They wouldn't jeopardize that link."

Ron still looked a little confused, but she saw that Harry understood. "Mione, that's even less safe than before! We have to go to Dumbledore," Harry said, green eyes flashing with worry.

Hermione suddenly went on the defensive. Dumbledore was still a sore spot for her, but somehow she doubted the boys, especially Harry, would understand. "I'm pretty sure Dumbledore doesn't need to know. He thinks I'm doing his dirty work, so that's all that matters."

"Are you crazy, Mione?" Ron exclaimed. "HE will have you six feet under before you can blink if he knows youre spying for Dumbledore."

"Voldemort…"

"Don't say his name." Both boys hissed nervously.

Hermione sighed. "Superstitious midwives. Anyway, you-know-who, "she said, voice dripping with sarcasm, "already knows. He thinks it's a bonus."

"I really don't like this."

"I'm almost eighteen, Ron. I can take care of myself."

"Hermione."

"Yes Harry."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go right ahead."

"Have you met HIM yet?"

Hermione's eyes shot up in surprise. She paused for a few moments.

"No, Harry, I haven't."

Both boys visibly relaxed. "Okay Hermione, I guess that makes me feel a little better." Ron admitted. "Though sometimes I wonder if big Malfoy is just as bad."

Hermione flashed her teeth in a wolfish grin. She needed to steer the conversation away from her lie. "Oh, he's positively horrific when not in public. Enough to give any child nightmares. But he's hardly the worst. All of them have horrible disfigurements that they hide rather well, but when alone… BAM! They show their true selves."

Ron was chuckling and Harry had begun to crack a smile. Of course they didn't believe her, it would be silly. But Hermione was always the best story teller.

"What about the manor, Hermione?" Ron egged on.

"The question is, which one? We have seventeen to choose from in a little magical box. All we have to do is take it out and we have a new house. Although their favourite is one made of a dark, dreary stone that is a color between blood red and a mud brown. The drapes look like they have been tattered by a werewolf, but they fall in such heavy, dusty layers that it is still impossible to look out of the window…"

Hermione continued to weave her skewed interpretations of the manors for the two boys, the only thoughts of death and destruction the ones that Hermione painted for them.

A/N: Please Review! Constructive criticism is always welcome as the whole reason I write is to learn. Also, if my characters are too OC, just let me know and I'll try to fix it! It's been a while since I've read the books, so the characters have become more of my interpretation of them than Rowling's.


	12. Have Hope

A/N: Hello again! Just another chapter, this one a little longer than the others. Here, you meet a flood of OC's, but don't be daunted. You'll figure them out eventually =) It's not my best chapter, but it's passable. I've been having a brain block recently.

Disclaimer: I have yet to see any Harry Potter material with my name on it.

Chapter 11: Have Hope

The hours passed by like gushing water, the cabin calm and silent. Hermione had been reading a book, but had slowly drifted off to sleep, spread out over one entire seat. Harry had been staring out the window for nearly the entire train ride. Ron didn't feel like sleeping or staying quiet, so he, seeing that Harry was not in the mood for talking, slipped out of the cabin to go crazy with the other Gryffindors.

Harry turned his eyes to the small, sleeping girl. He wasn't a tall boy by any standards, but Hermione seemed to have become smaller over the summer. Stronger, nonetheless, but smaller all the same time.

He was so worried about her. He had taken her news calmly and nearly without comment, but only because he didn't know what to say. The last thing he wanted to do was push her away. She was living in the balance and sometime or later, she had to fall one way or the other. He had to make sure that when she fell, she fell back to him and Ron. If she didn't…

Harry shook his head slightly. Failure wasn't an option. She couldn't fall away from the light. She was Hermione Granger, the most brilliant young woman in Britain, maybe even the world. She was also the most stubborn young woman in all of Hogwarts, at least, and she had made up her mind years ago to stand beside him. She wouldn't change. She couldn't.

Yet, Harry was worried. She HAD changed, if even just a little. The Hermione from last year or any of the years before was more controlled. Just in the few hours since boarding the train, Hermione had shown more than seventeen, different, highly unpredictable, quickly changing emotions. She seemed looser, less worried. All of this confused Harry greatly. He would have thought that having her go to a pureblooded mansion would make her more restricted…

The raven haired boy sighed. If there was one thing anyone was far from doing, it was figuring out Hermione Gran-. He stopped. Hermione Parkinson.

He was distracted from his thoughts by the compartment door sliding open and admitting Ron.

"You want a chocolate frog?" The redhead asked, holding out the dark brown sweet.

"Sure," Harry said, smiling, his previous thoughts pushed into the back of his mind as Ron sat back down and they fell into their normal, brother-like habits.

"Leave us alone."

"I just want Parkinson."

"Yah? Well, can't you see she's sleeping?"

Hermione's eyes fluttered open. How come she always seemed to wake up with people talking about her? "What's going on?" She asked, rubbing her eyes. She looked around the compartment with bleary eyes. She groaned when she saw who was outside.

"Really, Malfoy. Are you masochistic or something?" Hermione grumbled, sitting up and fixing her ponytail. "Because I know I'm not. So leave me alone."

Malfoy sneered. "Come on, Parkinson. Don't tell me our pristine and faultless head girl forgot all about the Prefect Meeting?"

Hermione shot out of her seat. "Merlin! I did?"

Ron looked at Malfoy sourly. "Why couldn't the Gryffindor prefects come?"

Malfoy chuckled making all three Gryffindor's hair stand on end. "Because they forgot too Weasel," He received a dirty glance from Hermione.

Hermione put a hand on Ron's shoulder and he backed up. "Stay calm, Ron."

The red head sniffed and sat down. He had decided to relinquish his position as a Prefect at the end of the last school year. Trying to keep up with Schoolwork, Harry's escapades, and Quidditch had proven to be too much. He regretted the decision now that Malfoy was Head boy, though. He wanted to keep an eye out for Hermione.

Hermione flashed the two boys a smile before exiting the cabin. Outside, she saw Theo and another seventh year Slytherin, Tracey Davis, leaning against the wall. She gaped between the two boys. "Really? Nott, you couldn't have been bothered to save me from him, "she pointed indignantly at Draco, "by being the one to get me?"

The tall young man flashed a sheepish grin. "Oops."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oops my ass, Nott." She then turned to the other girl and extended her hand. "Hello, I'm Hermione Gr-Parkinson. Head Girl."

Draco snorted. "Because no one knew that, Miss Loud mouth, know-it-all."

"Shut up," Both girls said at the same time. They looked at each other and cracked a small smile. Tracey was a taller girl, with dishwater blonde hair and fair skin, but eyes darker than Snape's. She had never stood out to Hermione before, mostly because she tended to stay out of trouble, which led her to replace Pansy as a prefect the year prior.

Tracey took Hermione's extended hand as they walked. "Tracey Davis." She simply said.

Hermione smiled and nodded. She fell back slightly and walked with Theodore.

"Hey, how are you?" She asked. After their Friday night/Saturday morning escapade, Theo hadn't shown up. She had asked Blaise and Draco where he was, but neither knew. Blaise said he was probably packing, and Draco, rude as always told Hermione to stop mothering them.

Theodore smiled down at the much shorter girl. "I'm good. Sorry I couldn't make it for lunch yesterday."

Hermione grinned back. "Oh, you'll never be forgiven. It's not like you practically lived at Parkinson Manor for the past two weeks."

He chuckled slightly. "My father decided that I should stay home more often." He made a face. "It was probably Jenine. She's been pushing for us to be more of a "family". That won't last long, though. Considering my father kept me home for one day." He shook his head slightly. "Oh, by the way, Jenine is my father's current Barbie doll wife. He has a fondness for those. These are some things you have to know now that you're in the circle. Most of the other purebloods keep their younger daughters away from him." He smirked.

Hermione listened to Theodore's story with interest. Would she really have to know all the ins and outs and odd quirks of the various pureblooded lines?

"So how did Wonder Boy and his sidekick take the news," Theodore asked, moving the subject away from his dysfunctional family.

Hermione directed a cold glower at the Slytherin.

"Sorry, Potter and Weasley."

She smirked and answered. "Harry and Ron took the news well, but I'm still nervous about tonight at the Welcome Feast. I don't know how the other Gryffindors will take it. You know us and our Knight-in-shining armor-syndrome. They may feel the need to 'rid the earth of the traitorous scum.'"

Thedore's smile returned. "That sounds like typical Gryffindor. Not that I have a vast amount of experience in that category."

The two continued their idle conversation, barely noticing the corridors they were passing through. A bit ahead of them, Draco and Tracey were gossiping about them.

Tracey looked back quickly. She had been quickly briefed by Draco on the situation, but the concept of goody two shoes Granger being a Parkinson was hard to wrap her head around. So instead, she placed her attention with the… situation at hand. "Do you think they realize how much attention they're drawing to themselves?" The girl asked Draco, smirking slightly.

"They obviously don't," The Head Boy smirked back. "Theo is completely engrossed by her, not that he'd ever admit it, mind you, and Parkinson can be caught by any tidbit of information dangled in front of her face."

Tracey chuckled. "You'd think that she would be more observant. Every Gryffindor we've passed so far stared like we were a circus."

Draco's eyebrows knitted. "What the Hell is a circus, Davis."

The tall Slytherin shrugged. "It's a show full of freaks that do strange things. Last time I was in America, my cousins wanted to go and I was dragged along."

"Get the Hell out of my face, Tsiklauri!"

A shriek echoed down the hall making all four of the prefects stop in their tracks.

Hermione's mind began working. There wasn't a single Gryffindor named Tsiklauri… but there was a-

"Draco Malfoy! You sent the _Slytherin prefects_ to get the _Gryffindors_?" She exclaimed, realization dawning on her face.

The blonde shrugged nonchalantly. "So what? It seemed to work with you."

Hermione let out a cry of exasperation. "Now I have to go play babysitter," she spat at the Head Boy and strutted off, leaving the three Slytherins in the dust.

Theodore rolled his eyes. "I told you it wasn't a good idea, Draco."

The center of attention smirked. "Whatever it takes to get her riled up."

Hermione turned the corner into the end of the Gryffindor train car and saw the source of the excitement. Just as she had expected, there were two serene Slytherins in the midst of a seething sea of red and gold.

The female Slytherin was massaging the bridge of her nose and Hermione couldn't help but smirk. Somehow, she knew she would probably be doing the same thing. Still smirking slightly, she whipped out her wand and cast a sonourus charm on her voice. "Really, children, is this how you treat all visiors? I'm ashamed to be a Gryffindor."

The sea spun around to the their head girl with her hand on her hip. Cancelling the charm, she walked towards the two younger prefects. Draco, who had caught up with her, followed her into the mass of faces. As Hermione passed, the crowd parted jovially, if somewhat embarrassedly, but as soon as Draco walked into them, he was surrounded by hostile glares. They wouldn't dare do anything with their Head girl and multiple _Slytherin prefects_ around.

She reached the two at the end of the hall. They nodded in greeting, but no words were exchanged. Draco, on the other hand, strutted right up and clasped hands with the male Slytherin who Hermione assumed was Tsiklauri. The female only raised her eyebrows and looked away from him. This wasn't lost on Hermione.

She turned back to the rest of the Gryffindors and said, "If you aren't a sixth or seventh year prefect, I want you to go back to your cabins immediately. I think that you've made enough fools of yourselves for one day."

The happy faces in the crowd fell, but they could see that their Head Girl was in no mood for any resistance. So, one by one and two by two, they wandered away from the corridor's end leaving only Dean Thomas, Elizabeth Cooper, Ginny Weasley, and Maxwell Forester. Hermione ignored the Slytherins briefly and strode up to Dean. "I hope you realize that I am holding you completely responsible."

The boy in question threw his hands up defensively. "Ask Eliza, I tried, but they wouldn't listen."

Hermione frowned. "Mhm. Of course."

Draco chuckled.

The lioness turned on him. "You're still the cause, Malfoy. You don't get the last laugh, yet."

He still continued to chuckle and sneered. "Oh, I'm still going to laugh, love."

Hermione's eyes blazed.

"Sorry to break up all this loveliness, but we should be getting to the prefect cabins. I for one, don't want to have to prolong this."

Hermione's dark eyes snapped towards the speaker. "Ginny? Why are you here?"

The read head rolled her eyes. "Really? I think you can figure that one out."

Hermione scoffed. "But you, a prefect?"

Ginny grinned wolfishly. "Tutoring, darling."

The long walk back to the front of the train passed nearly in silence. The Gryffindors and Slytherins had split apart the moment they began walking with only one little mishap. Hermione, eager to continue her conversation with Theo, had stepped forward to walk with him. The collective shock this caused wasn't lost on her and blushing slightly, she dropped back to walk by Eliza and Ginny.

"What were you doing?" Ginny had whispered, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"It's a long story." Hermione shrugged.

"Don't you dare-"

"I'm not avoiding the question. I have to tell everyone in the prefect cabins, so it's pointless to tell it more than once."

Ginny had just rolled her eyes and they continued their walk.

When they arrived at the prefect cabins, the twelve others were lounging around.

"Could you have possibly taken any longer," a younger girl Hermione recognized as Shea Lynn Tempest said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"It's a good thing we didn't call the fifth years, or we would've been waiting until Hogsmead," Earnie MacMillian chuckled.

"Shut up," Draco growled as he came through the door. "You didn't have to deal with a mass of blood thirsty Gryffindors."

Dean scoffed. "Maybe if Slytherins tried to be a little nicer to everyone, Gryffindors wouldn't be blood thirsty."

Hermione entered the room last. After closing the door behind her, she whacked both males in the back of the head and passed through them. "Both of you can be quiet. I haven't forgiven either of you. Now, sit down."

"Yes, mother," Shea winked. Hermione knew from the year before that Shea Lynn was extremely spirited. Apparently, she had lost none of that fire so far.

The golden skinned girl slipped down off the table and sat, marking the division. Since Ravenclaws were the most genial group, they always sat first. Usually then, Slytherins would sit to their right and the other three houses would mix together on their left. It made the difficult task of seating all four houses around one table a little bit simpler.

Once everyone had been seated, Hermione spoke. "Okay, I think we should begin traditionally. With introductions."

Everyone began to gripe, but the Head Girl cut them off with a wave of her hand. "I believe it's only fair. With the war going on, many families have decided to pull their children out of school and move. Other students have decided that they don't want the extra responsibility. You are the ones who had either been here the entire time or have replaced those that haven't. I admit, I don't know all of your names, which means that you probably don't know each others'." Hermione concluded strongly. "So, Malfoy, start."

The pale blonde glared at the girl sitting next to him. "No. Why don't you?"

"Don't play stupid Malfoy. You know very well why I can't." She hissed back.

"Fine. Okay, so if you don't know my name, you can leave. And by the way, I'm your Head Boy. Next."

Hermione had kicked him under the table, but he only ginned smugly. Of course he would've found a way to get around her rules.

"Theodore Nott. Slytherin. 7th."

"Tracey Davis. Slytherin. 7th."

Hermione had to pay attention after those two. She had to put the names she knew to the face she didn't.

"Anton Tsiklauri. Slytherin. 6th."

"Aeronwen D'Mure. Slytherin. 6th."

"Shea Lynn Tempest. Ravenclaw. 6th."

"Jesse Black. Hufflepuff. 6th."

"Earnie MacMillian. Hufflepuff. 7th."

"Maxwell Forester. Gryffindor. 6th."

"Harper O'Connahay. Hufflepuff. 6th."

"James Carpenter. Ravenclaw. 7th."

"Oliver Higgins. Ravenclaw. 6th."

"Susan Bones. Hufflepuff. 7th."

"Padma Patil. Ravenclaw. 7th."

"Elizabeth Cooper. Gryffindor. 7th."

"Dean Thomas. Gryffindor. 7th."

"Ginny Weasley. Gryffindor. 6th."

Hermione took a breath a leapt into the deep end. "And I'm your Head Girl. Hermione Parkinson."

The confusion, primarily among the Gryffindors was immediately apparent.

Dean chuckled nervously. "You had me worried for a second, Hermione. I could have sworn you said Parkinson."

The Head Girl looked her classmate in the eye. "You didn't head wrong, Dean."

"Holy Shit! How the hell are you related to Death Eaters? You can't be! You're Harry's best friend!"

"Shut up, Dean Thomas. It's not like I had much choice in the matter. And I only found out this summer. Now just sit down and calm down before I'm forced to take away points before we even reach Hogwarts." Hermione ordered. She turned to the rest of the shocked crowd. Mostly just the Gryffindors, though. The Slytherins all knew the news, except D'Mure, who had an eyebrow raised. The Ravenclaws just looked intrigued at this turn of events and the Hufflepuffs… Well, they looked slightly shocked, but not completely shell-shocked. She continued speaking. "Yes, I am a Parkinson. Pansy's twin sister, actually, but I didn't know. I was adopted nearly at birth, but that shouldn't change anything. I'm still just Hermione. If Dean's outburst is anything to go by, I'll need you all to have open minds about this change. When everyone else hears it, I need you to help keep the peace." She smirked slightly. "Especially those of you sitting by the Gryffindors."

Silence greeted her short monologue. While speaking, Hermione had nervously inched away from the perplexed, red in the face Ginny. When she noticed she was nearly bumping shoulders with Draco, she blushed slightly and moved back.

"Well," Padma said, obviously more amused than anything, "this is a phenomenon."

"What an understatement," Jesse Black chimed in.

"Get over it," Draco growled. "We have to get to business."

Hermione looked over at him and nodded her thanks. "I hope you won't judge me differently," she began, " After all, it's just a name. I just have one favour to ask of you. Please do not mention this to anyone. I want to get it over with all in one blow tonight." She paused before continuing. "Back to business. Your duties start the moment we leave the train. Actual patrols won't start until next week, but minor things have to be addressed now, especially among the first and second years. This year is extremely dangerous for us all, so we can't afford to be lax." She pulled a few sheets of paper from her bag. "This past summer, I was developing note pads that transfer information directly and chronologically into a master copy. That way Malfoy and I have immediate access to everything in one place. In the past two weeks, Nott and Malfoy have been helping me perfect it, but it is still only 94% accurate. So, for the time being, we will collect your journals every Monday night just to double check."

The prefects watched with interest as she showed them an example. On one piece of paper she wrote: Name; Time; infraction; punishment. It immediately appeared on the other.

"Any questions?" She asked.

Harper, a tiny Hufflepuff sixth year, raised her hand and asked. "Are we able to connect with other prefects in this way?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, the journals are enchanted to send information exclusively to the main book. It also must be written in the exact form I demonstrated. If you don't, the chance of it misinterpreting information is much higher."

Draco cut in. "If you want to communicate, just use your badges. It's like using a…" He stole a glance at Hermione. "a telly-phone?"

The Gryffindor chuckled. "Yes, like a muggle telephone." This seemed to clear up any confusion for the half-bloods and muggleborns, but the purebloods still looked mystified.

Draco smirked. "You all are dense."

Hermione kicked him. "You're the one who couldn't even say the word right."

The blond Slytherin glowered at her, but continued anyway. "All you have to do is touch it and say the name of the person you want to communicate with. It's like a Floo Call. Without the faces, obviously."

After that, everyone seemed to understand what was going on.

The next hour was spent in trivial advice and random conversation. As Hermione looked around the table, she began to see certain qualities that would come to be valuable in each one of her prefects. There was one trait, though, that she was intrigued by. Everyone was connected to another in some way, binding them together. Even the Slytherins who had seemed slightly reserved as the idle conversation began were warming up to the others. Just like all the rest, they found connections.

Hermione, listening to the seventeen others there, made a silent wish. She wished that even though they were all so different, that they would be able to stand together through the next year, whatever trials it may bring.


	13. It's Like Waiting for Water to Boil

A/N: Happy April everyone =) I hope you enjoyed my lovely prank chapter! If this is after April 1st, you can still read it under its own story. It was too fun to resist.

I can't believe there's only two months to Summer!. Time flies fast! Well, I hope you all had a lovely March and I'll shut up now =)

The Real Chapter 12:

A terrified shriek echoed down the empty corridor, but there were still heads that turned in its direction. The thump of the body hitting the floor caused glee to break out in the faces of almost all who were in the room. A few even laughed. One of the cloaked members reached down to poke the body, checking to see if it was still alive…

"Anton, you bastard!"

The prefect cabin erupted with laughter as the tall Russian was pulled over the edge of the couch by the furious Ravenclaw.

The prefect cabin of an hour before was drastically changed into something far more comfortable. The floor was carpeted in a deep red (courtesy of Ginny) and instead of a table and chairs, there were couches and cushions placed in the center of the room.

"Shea, your animagus might be a bird, but you have some limits in human form," Tracey, who had been sitting on the same couch as both Anton and Shea, chuckled. She offered a hand to both of them, but at the last second, pulled it back. She had seen a mysterious glimmer in both sixth year's eyes.

"Hey! What was that for?" Anton complained, his eyes still twinkling.

"You know very well why I didn't let you grab my hand," Tracey said, rolling her eyes.

Shea smiled. "Slytherin bitch," She chuckled in good humor as she picked herself up. "A precocious Slytherin bitch, but still a bitch."

"That would be Parkinson, not me," Tracy chuckled. She stopped though after a moment and glanced nervously over Theo to where Hermione was sitting. "The other Parkinson, I mean—not that she's a-"

"Stop, Davis. Just because she's my sister doesn't mean I'm going to defend her all the time. And after all, she really can be bitchy. I can't see how you've managed to live in the same dorm as her for seven years. I was only cooped up in a house for two weeks and I was about to pull my hair out. Ginny!"

The redhead had been sitting on the arm of the couch, but somehow managed to squeeze herself onto the overfull seat. That effectively smashed Hermione into Theodore who shoved Anton, who had only managed to get his seat the moment before, who bumped into Tracey. Tracey yelped as she collided with Draco, who looked fairly close to falling off.

Earnie, Padma, Elizabeth, Dean, and Susan were on the couch opposite and were all wearing matching Cheshire cat grins.

Harper was lounging on the floor infront of them when she heard the three girls begin to giggle. "Share with the class! I want to know!" Her cherubic little face was in an overexaggerated frown.

Padma spoke up. "Three things."

Susan's eyebrows knitted. "We only talked about two."

The Ravenclaw glared at her and said, "Well, I added one. First, would you stop swearing? It is highly unbecoming."

Hermione blushed, Shea laughed, Tracey smirked.

"Second, we are going to be arriving in Hogsmead in twenty minutes, so we should probably get going."

She paused for a second and looked around her, but Dean Thomas beat her to the punch. "Finally, have any of you ever seen a couch full of purebloods so squashed together? Don't you, especially the Slytherins, like your space?"

Draco scowled, "I'm on the end for a reason, Thomas."

Tracey threw up her hands in defense. "I'm a half-blood and have seven siblings."

Anton shrugged. "I've heard it's worse than this at Durmstrang."

Theodore smirked. "I'm not complaining."

Hermione sent the Slytherin a dark glare and kicked him in the shin. "Dean, you don't need an explanation from me."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Weasley, Dean, remember?"

Shea was now on the arm where Ginny had been earlier. "Same as Draco."

A silence settled after the nearly overlapping voices ended.

Jesse Black and Aeronwen, who were on the floor with Harper, began to laugh. "I should have grabbed some popcorn for the show," The pale, dark haired Slytherin said, her bright blue eyes shining.

Eliza chuckled and stood up. "I don't know about you all, but I'm going. I need to gather my things. See you in a bit."

In small groups, the prefects left. Hermione and Ginny were about halfway down the hall when the Head Girl realized she didn't have some of the papers she had brought with her.

"Ginny wait a minute," Hermione said quickly, her hands shuffling through her bag, searching for both the journals and her copy of Hogwarts a History that she had taken out earlier.

"What is it 'Mione?" Ginny asked, stopping and turning around.

"I forgot some stuff in the cabin, could you wait here for just a minute?" Hermione asked, starting to walk back down the hall as she said it.

"Do I have any choice?" Ginny mumbled, mostly to herself since her Head Girl was already close to the door.

Yet Hermione had heard and she turned back around with a grin. "No." She called out to her friend before disappearing back into the prefect cabin.

O

When she entered the room, she noticed the only ones left were the Slytherins and Shea. She knitted her eyesbrows in confusion, but didn't say anything.

"Look who's decided to join us again," Draco smirked from where he was lounging on his own couch, "Forget something, love?"

"Don't call me love," The Lioness growled before searching around the couches. "They must've fallen somewhere around here when we transfigured the table…" She muttered to herself.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Theo open his bag and pull her missing papers and books out. "Looking for these, Parkinson?" He said.

Hermione sighed in relief. "Yes! Thank you, Nott. I didn't know where I had put them when we transfigured everything earlier."

The tall, dark-haired Slytherin shrugged as Hermione took her things from him. "They were still on the table before we changed it. I decided to grab them. After all, it seemed like you had your hands full." He sent a glare in Shea's direction.

The only Ravenclaw in the room covered her heart with her hands and dramatically fell against the pillows on the floor. "Alas, it is entirely my fault! It's not as if Anton were also arguing with those hard headed Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs about the carpet color as well."

Anton rolled his eyes. "Very Slytherin, Shea. Placing the focus elsewhere. If you were in Slytherin, you'd probably be Princess this year."

"Hey!" Aeronwen cried from the other side of the pillow pile. Hermione blinked rapidly. Now that Shea and Aeronwen were close together, the Gryffindor noticed they looked practically like twins. The only difference was Shea had golden skin and Aeronwen was pale. But both were green eyed, freckled, athletic looking, short, and dark-curly haired.

The sixth year Slytherin looked indignant. "Anton, are you trying to give away my position? You know that I earned it fair and square!"

Tracey rolled her eyes. "Oh sure, because sucking up to Demi your entire fourth year sure constitutes as fair and square, Aero."

The small girl smirked. "Well, it got me what I wanted, didn't it?"

Hermione's brain had started working. What were they talking about? Princesses? Positions? Whatever it was, it had peaked Hermione's interest.

"What are you all talking about?" She asked, her eyes bright.

Draco groaned. "There she goes. We'll never get rid of her now."

Theodore chuckled, but turned to Hermione, who was still next to him. "Try to keep your mind open for this, Parkinson."

When Hermione glared at him, he continued. "Slytherin has a court system. The highest honors are Prince, for males, and Queen, for females. Under them are Dukes and Duchesses, Princesses, so on, so forth."

Hermione's jaw had dropped. "A court system? Why would you do that? It sounds ridiculous."

Anton shrugged, "It was set up by Salazar himself. We can't change it now. It's exactly like you said earlier about the Head Boy and Head Girl common room."

Hermione's face was still incredulous. "How does it even work? Does your head of house appoint you?"

The Slytherins all looked at Draco who sighed. "Really, just because I'm prince doesn't mean I have to always explain this to every democratic lioness that-" When he noticed that none of them were smiling he rolled his eyes and continued. "Fine. Every year, the Prince and Queen watch the Diaspora of the Fourth Year and decide who gets what position. So at the end of your fourth year you're briefly informed of the positions you'll hold for the next for years. It's not really a big deal."

Aeronwen choked. "Are you kidding me Draco?"

Draco chuckled. "Just wanted to see your reactions. It was worth it." He addressed Hermione again. "It's actually a huge deal, especially with the uh… political atmosphere. When you're higher in Slytherin court your higher in… other places. It also makes solving arguments a lot easier. You can just pull rank on them," He knew that Hermione would catch on to what he was saying without much problem. But he still had to be careful. Even on the train, no one knew who could be listening in.

Hermione looked around at all of them, memorizing their faces. The six others in the room looked calm even though all of them had more pressures than most of the school combined. She knew that if she gained their trust, she'd have a strong force behind her. At the same time, she'd have to be extremely wary, since she didn't know who was loyal to Voldemortand who wasn't.

Suddenly, the train gave a huge groan and began slowing down. Hermione leapt to her feet. "Oh no! Ginny is still waiting for me. Ron and Harry must be off their rockers wondering where I am!"

Tracey smirked. "Don't you ever get tired of babysitting for those two?"

"I do not. They are very capable of taking care of themselves," Hermione stated firmly while walking out of the room. "See you tonight at the feast."

The door closed behind her and Draco started laughing.

The other five looked at him like he was crazy. Draco Malfoy… laughing?

His chuckled died away and he explained. "I'm beginning to see why Pansy calls her Hellcat. Anyway, I think she should worry less about making hasty exists and worry more about taking her things."

There on the floor was her copy of Hogwart's a History. Theo chuckled as he picked it up. "You think she'd be more careful with her things."

The train ground to a halt and the six of them stood up and began walking out. "Draco, you're going to be seeing her in a bit, why don't you take the book to her?" Anton asked.

Draco sneered. "It's Theo's job to put up with her on off hours."

O

Ginny and Hermione were walking close together as Hermione told Ginny what she had just learned about Slytherin.

"That's crazy, Mione! I wonder how they can stand such a place," The readhead exclaimed.

Hermione shook her head. "I assume they were sorted into Slytherin for a reason. If they've survived this long, I'm sure they'll be alright."

Ginny smirked. "I'm not so sure. With Malfoy as prince they might not last very long."

Hermione giggled. "I'm not worried about the SLytherins with Malfoy as Prince, I'm worried about the entire school with him as Head Boy."

Ginny smiled, "You'll keep him straight."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I sure hope so. He's a lot like Pansy though, meaning there might be quite a few broken things by the end of the week."

"You have a terrible temper, Hermione. You need to calm it," Ginny said earnestly.

Hermione looked at her friend askance. "Hmmm… that sounds a lot like the pot calling the kettle black."

They continued talking as they walked out of the train. Ginny who was taller than Hermione by an inch or two poked her head over the crowd. "There's Harry and Ron. We need to hop into their carriage before Dean and Seamus steal them away from us."

They hurried over to the two boys who looked relieved to see them. "Where were you two?" Ron cried, looking completely exasperated. "Eliza and Dean showed up half an hour ago."

Ginny scoffed, "Ask Hermione. It wasn't my fault. She's the one who left her stuff behind and had to go get it."

"Agh!" Hermione had looked in her bag and saw that she didn't have her textbook. "I forgot it again!"

Ginny sighed, "You better hope that one of the Slytherins grabbed it because if you left it on the train, bye bye bookie."

Hermione scowled, "Nott probably grabbed it. I was next to him for most of it. I could've sworn I put it my bag!"

"Wait," Ron spoke up, cutting the banter between the two girls. The thestral-pulled carriages began moving. "You were alone with the Slytherins, Mione?"

Hermione looked confused. "…Yes? What about it? Well there was Shea, who's a Ravenclaw, but she might as well be-"

"Mione," Ron cut in, "You know I don't like it when you're with them alone. They're dangerous."

Hermione chuckled. "Really Ron. I can't exactly avoid it. I live in a house full of them! You know this."

"That doesn't mean you have to be alone with them at school," Harry added.

"I can take care of myself, you two. I believe we've already had this conversation," Hermione scowled and looked into the forest, blatantly ignoring the boys.

"Hermione," Harry said, "its hard to grasp what you're going through because no one that we know has ever had it happen to them." He paused hoping that Hermione would look over. She didn't.

"But it doesn't mean you're alone," he finished.

That time, Hermione did look over, a small smile on her face. She didn't say anything, but the smile was enough.

O

Soon the carriages were arriving at Hogwarts and the boats carrying the younger children were there. Together, they entered the hallowed halls. The first years looked around them in awe while the middle years flowed around them like rivers around rocks. The Seventh years were much like the first years, though. They couldn't help but take in the glory and beauty of the ancient stones.

Ginny caught up with two of her friends, leaving the Golden Trio at the entrance. There were a few other seventh years around them.

"Can you believe this is it?" Elizabeth said to Hermione as she looked at the lake. "This is the last year we have here."

Hermione shook her head. "It's crazy. It seems like only yesterday I was a wide eyed little first year who didn't know the first thing about magic."

Harry laughed and threw his arm around Hermione's shoulders. "Well that must've changed quickly because you were still smarter than the rest of us, even in the first week."

Hermione smiled back at him. "Thank Merlin for books. Speaking of which, remind me to find Nott after the feast. I need to see if he has my things."

"You old hags are being ridiculously slow!" Ron called out, about twenty paces ahead of them. "The sooner we get everyone into the Great Hall, the sooner we can get the sorting ceremony over with and we can eat!"

Hermione and Eliza scurried to catch up with the tall red-head. They were closely followed by Harry, Dean, Lavender and Parvati, and Seamus.

"It's about time the Gryffindor brigade decided to show up," a sour voice reprimanded. Draco was leaning against the wall with Pansy, Theodore, Blaise, Daphne Greengrass, Crabbe, Goyle, and Tracey. "Everyone is waiting for you."

Ron and Seamus began to bristle, but Hermione stepped out in front, sending the boys a commanding glare. "Well how I see it, they're probably waiting for you too," Hermione said to the assembled Slytherins.

Neither group wanting to be the last ones inside, so they entered at about the same time in a jumbled mess. There were hostile hisses and sour glares in every direction.

"Ah! So kind of our seventh years to join us!" A booming voice from the front of the Hall exclaimed.

Hermione blushed as the attention of everyone on the room turned to the now gladly separating groups. "Excuse us, sir." She called back. "We were just admiring the halls."

Dumbledore shook his head. "You'll have plenty of time for that later. But what a lovely example of House Unity! It is quite nice to see our eldest Slytherins and Gryffindors coexisting peacefully."

By now, both groups had reached their own tables, but the looks of incredulity were universal. Hermione could've sworn Draco had just become slightly green. Ron wasn't looking much better.

"But that's beside the point. Please take your seats so we may continue," The old wizard said, his hand sweeping over the first years. "Let us Begin!"

The Sorting Ceremony was going without a hitch. The hat sung its song and the first years were being sorted without any issues. Hermione smiled when the last names got to the P's. She recognized the little blonde boy from the train station… Nathaniel Potts. Selfishly, Hermione wanted the boy to be sorted into Gryffindor, the best house in her opinion.

The first year seemed to be in a bit of a daze. Everything happening was obviously overwhelming him. When he sat under the hat, the hat frowned deeply, creases appearing in its wrinkled leather. It thought for a moment before shouting out: "Slytherin!"

Hermione's eyes widened. The boy was a muggleborn! In Slytherin? What was the hat thinking? But Nathaniel ambled over to the silver and green table without a single comment.

The ceremony continued, but Hermione's mind was far away. She'd have to ask Pansy, or one of the prefects, to keep an eye out for him.

Sooner rather than later, all the first years were sorted and Dumbledore was ending his speech. "Now, I would like to recognize our Head Students this year."

Hermione's heart clenched and she took a deep breath. Harry and Ron, on either side of her, squeezed her hands.

Dumbledore hadn't even paused, "Draco Malfoy and Hermione Parkinson."

The two of them, on opposite sides of the Great Hall, stood up. For a few moments, the room was absolutely silent.

A/N- Read and Review please!


	14. Follow Me

A/N: Hey again =) Huge Thanks to Lacerta-Cassiopia-Black, acast, 31EliZAbeTH919, bumpyduey, LauRawrCait, and bumble-beeoncrack! I love reviews even if they just say that you like the story. =)

Without further ado: I own nothing, thus you may read on…

**Chapter 13: Follow me**

Later in her life, Hermione would regard silence as a beautiful thing. It would be something to be admired and loved. It would herald peace, comfort, and the beautiful lack of war.

But Hermione was still young, and those few, brief seconds of silence were the most gut-wrenching sound she could've heard.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. In those few seconds, everything changed. The whispers began first among the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws and then every Gryffindor and Slytherin were shouting questions, demanding answers.

"Parkinson?"

"What happened to Granger?"

"Wait? She's related to _**Pansy**_?"

"Huh? Did you just say she's a Death Eater?"

"Death Eaters? Where?"

"No, you idiot, I said Hermione's a Death Eater!"

"What the-"

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore's voice bellowed over the great hall, so loud that a few of his colleague's glasses shattered. "Sit down! All of you! Immediately!"

In shock, the students complied wordlessly, their eardrums still ringing.

Dumbledore's face was dark and highly bothered. There was even the lack of his trademark twinkle. His mouth was set in a grim line that nearly disappeared into his voluminous beard.

At the Gryffindor table, Hermione was busy trying to sink into the floor. There was that blasted silence again. It was eating away at her nerves. Around her, Dean, Eliza, Ginny, Harry, and Ron, were protecting her from the flabbergasted looks thrown in her direction.

The Headmaster began speaking again, his voice loosing the piercing edge it had had moments before, "I am ashamed of you." His eyes scanned the crowd. "All of you. This is not the time for disunity, especially over something as simple as a name." He folded his hands in front of him and let loose a sigh. "These are hard times for all of us, there is no denying that. But there is no need to begin such a display of… open hostility towards our Head Girl and her family. The young woman you have known as Miss Granger is no different than the young woman you will now call Miss Parkinson. I am deeply disturbed by your actions. Take care of what you say in the future, for I am warning you, there may be consequences."

Dumbledore stopped speaking and looked behind him at his staff. "Remember what I have said and let the feast begin."

After a few seconds, some brave souls began to whisper to one another and after a few minutes the voice level in the Great Hall was as it was every year. All except for one small corner of the Gryffindor table. They still ate in relative silence. Even Ron was managing an acceptable chewing speed.

"See, 'Mione. That wasn't so terrible. It's a good thing you had us around you, though," Ginny pointed out from where she was sitting, diagonal from Hermione, in front of Ron.

Hermione shrugged and she pushed her food around her plate. "I guess."

"Come on, Hermione, eat," Ron said, nudging her slightly.

The Head Girl bristled, "You can't force me to anything, Ronald Weasley."

Ron's eyes widened, "I wasn't trying to."

Hermione sighed. "Sorry, I'm on edge."

Eliza chuckled. "Oh, we can tell, dear. It's completely understandable, though. I don't think I would've had the strength to stand up in front of the school like that. It would've been dinner in my room!"

Harry nodded his head at Elizabeth. "'Liza has a point, 'Mione. Do you want to just leave right now and not wait for the end of the feast?"

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Harry, that would be so…" She shook her head. "I don't even have an adjective. It would look like I'm ashamed of my family…" She paused for one moment. "Well, sometimes it's a given that I would be, they are… you know whats after all, but I'm not about to cave in over popular opinion."

Miraculously during her speech, she had begun eating, stabbing the food with a fervor. Harry and Ron beamed at each other. They knew exactly what worked on the last third of the trio. As soon as she had something else to release her anger on ((in this case, half the student body)), she would forget about what she had previously been revolting against.

"What are you two smirking about," the Head Girl said between mouthfuls.

"Nothing." They said at the same time.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but continued to eat.

O

Despite how fervently Hermione had wanted to leave the Great Hall, she knew nothing could top the next test of her sanity. As the dessert was being served, she had suddenly frozen. Her spoon had been half-way to her mouth and she was looking straight forward. Yet she hadn't been looking at Dean. Her eyes had travelled clear to the other side of the Great Hall. Once there, they had met with the steely grey orbs of Draco Malfoy. As soon as the contact had been made, Hermione looked away, a new demon swirling in her mind. She was sure that his mind wasn't very differently occupied.

A mere twenty minutes later, she stood outside the Great Hall, all the other students swirling around her. She sighed. Hermione wondered why the founders had ever decided to put the Head Students in their own common room. The Gryffindor scowled. It had probably been a splendid conspiracy made by the founders to get the two most promising students in the school together. Afterwards, the following Headmasters must have seen this as a tradition that needed to be upheld.

"We're rubbing off on you, amore. Why the sour face?" a smooth voice said from behind her. Hermione spun around and beamed, knowing exactly who it would be.

The Head Girl's smile continued as she said to Blaise, "I should hope you're not. As for my positively delightful expression, that can be attributed to Draco Malfoy."

The dark skinned Slytherin made an unpleasant face, "Ah, that explains everything. Most dour looks can be traced back to him one way or another."

"Thank you so much for the compliment, Blaise. I'm positively flattered."

The object of Hermione's fears and Blaise's mockery strode up looking as arrogant as ever. Blaise sarcastically bowed to the Slytherin Prince.

"My Lord," Blaise said, his eyes twinkling with good humor, "You know I live to please you."

Draco rolled his eyes and turned to Hermione. "Have you gotten your damn book back yet? Theodore's been looking for you to give it back. Waste of his time, if you ask me."

Hermione's scowl had returned. "No I haven't. Why does he still have it when you could've easily given it back to me?"

Draco shrugged, "In case you're not aware of the fact, I don't want to have to mingle with mudbl-" The blonde stopped himself mid-word, very aware of his mistake. Hermione's face had turned to stone.

"Why did you stop, Malfoy?" Hermione hissed, her eyes dangerously lackluster. "I was so intrigued by what you were saying. Keep going."

Draco shook his head. "Forget it."

Hermione growled. "I said keep going."

Draco's face had also turned severe. "And I said forget it. You may not be a filthy little mudblood anymore, but I still hold far more power than you ever will."

The Head Girl stood straight in front of him, "If by power you mean the appalling and merciless pain you inflict on others, then I'm glad I'm powerless. I want none of your blood-spattered supremacy."

"Parkinson. Draco."

The spoken words didn't even enter the Lioness' brain. She and Draco were silently locked in combat.

"Parkinson. Draco."

No response from either of the Head Students.

"Hermione and the Prince of Idiocy!"

That time, there was response from both of them. The speaker was Theo. Blaise had disappeared, never one to care about politics.

Hermione's mouth was open. "Did you just call me Hermione?"

Theo exhaled noisily, "You wouldn't respond to Parkinson. Draco, you damn idiot, do you know the scene you've been causing?"

Now it was Draco's mouth that was agape. "ME? Oh, because it doesn't take two to argue! What about that stupid bitch?"

Theodore rolled his eyes. "I was watching and she definitely didn't start it." He looked at Hermione askance. "Though she wasn't doing much to stop it either."

The Head Girl blushed. Now that her senses were back under control, she saw the stares that the three of them were getting from the other students. Her face turned even redder.

The taller of the two Slytherins shook his dark head, "I hope that Dumbledore isn't making a mistake putting the two of you together. My prediction is one of you will be dead or horribly injured within the week. If you're willing to fight like this in public, just imagine in private."

Draco's pale face was slightly flushed from embarrassment, but he was doing a good job at hiding it. "Why thank you, mother. You…"

Draco never got to finish as he saw Professor McGonagall walking out of the Great Hall, rounding up straggling students.

"Mister Nott!" Her voice rose about the crowd, "I hope you aren't leaving all of the work for Miss Davis. Please escort the remainder of your house to their common room."

Theodore nodded at the Deputy Headmistress. "Yes, Professor." He turned back to Hermione and pulled a shrunken book out of his pocket. "Here's what I came here for."

Hermione took the book with a quick thank you and watched her final lifeline walk away, leaving her with Draco and McGonagall in an empty hall.

O

"The password is "_ago ut frater vel pereo ut fosso,_" McGonagall said as she lead them to the lonely portrait.

Draco's eyebrows knitted. "What?"

"_Ago ut frater vel pereo ut fosso,_" The transfiguration professor repeated. "The Head common room should be difficult to get into, thus, a difficult password is required. Only the brightest students can remember it and pronounce it correctly. Will this be a problem, Mr. Malfoy?"

The Slytherin scowled. "Not at all, Professor."

He looked over at his… He wasn't quite sure what to refer to her as. Partner? Too familiar. Acquaintance? They had known each other for too long. Mortal Enemy? No, that was reserved for Saint Potter.

Giving up, he decided she would just be Parkinson. There would be no "his" anywhere in any sentence related to her. She wasn't his anything.

So, he looked over at Parkinson. She looked deep in thought, dangerous for one walking up stairs.

"Professor?" She finally questioned, "What does the password mean? I can only gather bits and pieces of it."

Draco sighed. Damn wannabe know-it-all.

"It means _Live as Brothers or Perish as Fools_, Miss Gr-Parkinson. Once said by a very famous American, Martin Luther King Jr., I believe."

The two Heads looked at each other, both with exasperated expressions.

Of course, Draco thought to himself. Dumbledore was the master of making passwords fit to houses.

When they reached the portrait, they both looked at McGonagall in confusion. It was in the middle of the stairwell leading up to the Astronomy Tower. They recognized the painting, having seen it every time they had class in the Tower, but had never paid real attention to it. It was of a man dressed in a Shakespearean outfit sitting under an apple tree, whittling away at the fruit with a small knife.

"This is it?" Draco asked incredulously. "But wasn't the Head Room on the Third Floor last year?"

The stern woman looked at him. "I shall not inquire how you know that, but yes it was. Because of the nature of the Head Commons, it shifts its location every year to fit the needs of the students housed there. This was an interesting location, but I am not here to wonder over every mystery that Hogwarts has to offer. Keeping students from killing each other is difficult enough. Speaking of which, I know you two have history, but please attempt to behave yourselves. You are supposed to model what Hogwarts is, and I will not have that image be one of brokenness." She turned to the man in the painting. He was quite tiny, as the portrait was one of a scene and not of him. "Master Finn."

The small man jumped and cut his finer with the knife. "Oh, milady. Excuse my dallying! I did not see you there. And who might these young saplings be?"

Draco looked at the man. Did that piece of cloth just call him a tree?

"They are the Head Students who will be living behind your portrait, Master Finn."

"Oh! I'm sorry I have not been very advertizing to your needs. The room may be a bit dusty. It has been quite some time since anyone has used it. I hope you allow. Just know your wish is my hest."

Draco couldn't help but notice that Parkinson had groaned slightly. So he wasn't the only one to not know exactly what this Master Finn was saying.

"Oh, I can assure you it'll be fine, Master Finn. Miss Granger, ahem, Parkinson, would you say the password?"

"Ago ut frater vel pereo ut fossor," Hermione said. Master Finn tutted. "Close, darling. Your inflection on the "o" vowel is a bit heavy, but I'm sure you'll learn. Just don't let it become hack. Now, you, boy."

"Ago ut frater vel pereo ut fossor," Draco repeated, disgruntled at being called a tree and a boy in a two minute period.

"Perfectly handsome! Just a slight problem with your "t"," The small man in the portrait said. "You may enter."

The portrait swung open and the two Heads stepped in. McGonagall shook her head as they looked at her inquisitively. "I must get going. There are no classes tomorrow, but I must begin preparing. You do not need to get up early, but it isn't advisable to sleep in. There will be plenty of younger years who need help finding places and older years that need reminding they don't rule the place. Goodnight. Remember my warning."

The portrait door closed behind them.

"Remember, remember, remember." Draco grumbled.

Hermione didn't say anything as she had already exited into the common room. Draco heard her gasp.

So he came out of the tunnel and into the light as well.

It was a large circle, carpeted in a deep cream color. On one side, there was a small space that had cabinets of some sort of honey colored wood. There was an island capped in dark black granite that looked infused with stars. Around the island were barstool chairs the same color as the cabinets. Then there were a few things Draco had never seen before. Parkinson, on the contrary seemed to know exactly what they were. He'd try to figure it out without looking stupid later.

His eyes moved on. On another side of the circular room, directly across from the door, there were two stair cases. The one on the left was carpeted in a cream slightly lighter than the main carpet, but it had a green rug at the bottom. One guess whose room that was. The other was the same, only with a deep red rug at the bottom. Between the stair cases, there was a bookshelf built into the walls. Draco guessed that was what Parkinson had squealed at the moment she walked into the room.

He shifted his attention again to the last side of the circular room. This side had three couches and a low glass table. Next to that was a table in the same color as the cabinets with a few chairs splattered around it.

"It's absolutely beautiful."

Draco sniffed. "It's adequate. Very boring though."

Hermione ignored his comment and went to the stairwell on the right. "Just pray we don't have to share a bathroom, Malfoy."

Draco stopped in his tracks. "What the hell?"

Hermione laughed at the look on his face. "I said, pray we don't have to share a bathroom."

"Shit. Sorry, Parkinson, but you're going to have to forget about hygiene. Actually, I'm not sory, but it doesn't matter. You're being officially kicked out," He called after her as she disappeared into the hole in the wall. He wasn't worried. The founders we're that stupid.

"Malfoy?" A voice called down.

"What the hell do you want now Parkinson?" Draco had taken the time to inspect the muggle contraptions in mini-kitchen. He opened the door of one and was hit by cold air. Gasping, he closed it. Muggles were insane! Why would they want to fill a box with cold air?

"I think you should come up here."

Draco growled. "What if I refuse? I don't have to follow your whims, you know."

"GET THE HELL UP HERE, MALFOY!" The voice was frantic and Draco's stomach dropped.

There was no way in the name of Merlin's left testicle the founders would do something as stupid as make a boy and a girl share a bathroom…

He crossed the Circular room as quickly as he could and walked up the stairs that he knew lead to Hermione's room. He went through the already open door and saw what the Gryffindor was looking at. In the left wall of her room, there was a door and she was looking through it.

"Oh bloody hell," he muttered under his breath. But when he looked through the door over the shorter girl's head, he saw that it certainly wasn't a normal bathroom.

For a few moments, the Slytherin forgot all about the fact that he was forced to room with a bitchy know-it-all who was best friends with the boy-who-should-have-saved-everyone-the-trouble-and-just-died. He didn't remember the fact that Voldemort was watching him and his best friends close enough to smell them. He couldn't think about anything except the "bathroom" that was in front of him.

Draco followed Hermione into the granite and marble room. In this part of the room, there was a white and gold tub snuggled into the far corner and there was a white and gold shower next to it. The sink looked like a mini waterfall coming out of the wall to fall into a basin. Even the toilet looked expensive… Draco shook his head. Hermione had disappeared into an open door on the adjacent wall. He followed her.

He stopped. The other room had been a normal bathroom, true, a magnificent one, but a bathroom nonetheless. This room… it was paradise. The entire room was blue and had marble statues scattered around. The room was dominated by a deep pool that reflected the silver, golds, and blues that were all around the room. They saw a small protrusion on the wall and Draco had the intense urge to jump from it into the water. All around them were tropical plants. There was another door next to the gold door they had come out of. This one was silver and Draco assumed that if he went inside, he would find a bathroom nearly identical to Hermione's. He opened the door and peaked inside. He was right. The only difference was that where hers what gold, his was silver.

"By Merlin. I guess we don't have to share a bathroom after all." Hermione breathed. "How can this room even exist on the side of a tower?"

Draco didn't answer her. His senses were slowly starting to come back to him, as was his distaste of the girl he was with. "Just to let you know Granger, this door will always be locked."

As he said it, he pulled the door closed and was left alone for the first time since leaving home that day.

Hermione was so enthralled by the wonder of the room, she didn't even hear him go.

A/N: That's all for now folks! Now that most things have been set up, we can really get this thing moving =) Also, the pool room described above is based loosely off of William Hearst's indoor pool. If you've never seen it, just look it up on google and imagine tropical plants hanging all around. ((If you're ever in the San Simeon, California area, I would HIGHLY recommend taking the tour of the castle. It's amazing.))

Read and Review please!


	15. First Lesson

A/N: Hello again everyone =) I'm back from an arduous journey through… okay, I have no excuses. This isn't the best chapter I've ever written, I just wanted to get this story back on track. For some reason, this was a difficult chapter to write and I probably rewrote it five times… so I hope you enjoy this version.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING.

Chapter 14- First Lesson

The next morning dawned on Hermione lying once again on an unfamiliar bed. A loud mrrrow echoed through the room from the cat she had left in his cage the night before. Hermione groaned and her eyes opened to her room of cream, honey, and red. They were colors she loved, so instead of the start she had given upon waking at Parkinson Manor, she smiled. The sun filtered in through a long window next to her bed.

The Gryffindor rubbed her eyes. She had forgotten to close the curtains the night before. Another indignant meow came from the other side of her bed.

"Oh Crooks, you're such a diva." She sighed, rolling over and unlatching the cage without having to get up. The large cat stretched and slowly walked across the room into Hermione's bathroom. She had placed his litterbox there the night before.

Hogwarts' Head Girl was feeling lazy, a sensation she didn't have much experience with. The events of the day prior had been overwhelming. The warm sun filtering through the windows and the soft chirps of birds perches on the stones of the castle made her want to stay in that moment forever…

Her eyes had begun to close again when two things happened. A terrified shriek echoed through her room and her alarm went off. One she didn't need to attend to, the other, she probably did.

Refusing to be seen in her pajamas by Draco Malfoy((for the second time, maybe it was the third?)), Hermione threw on a pair of sweats and a tank top. She opened the door to the common room.

"What the hell is going on down there?"

She didn't get a response, so she trotted down the stairs to see that the common room was empty.

"GRANGER!"

Hermione knew that Malfoy was angry. He was usually good about calling her Parkinson, so reverting to Granger meant he wasn't thinking very clearly.

The door to the left room opened and a disheveled Slytherin thumped down his set of stairs. Once he was in view, she saw that he was holding her spitting, hissing cat by its scruff.

"Crooks!" She exclaimed.

"Your fucking cat decided he wanted to meander through _my _bathroom and into _my_ bedroom! Don't you keep your fucking door closed Granger?" The blond was fuming.

Hermione bristled. "I didn't think I had to since you made a huge deal about keeping your doors locked at night. Bastard."

"Well, forgive me for not following through on all of my promises. Does the word Slytherin ring a bell?"

"What the hell does that have to do with keeping your doors locked?"

"Gah! Forget it Granger. But do you see what your bastard cat did to me? He damn near clawed my fucking face off!"

Hermione snatched her cat away from Malfoy, "Must've thought you were a ferret. Honest mistake."

The bleeding Slytherin threw up his hands in frustration. "You just keep that thing away from me." He stalked off without another word.

"Good morning to you too!" Hermione called sarcastically after him as he disappeared into the left stairwell.

"Fuck you Parkinson."

"You just have to have the last word, don't you?"

"Maybe I do."

Hermione heard his door slam and shook her head to clear it. He pissed her off to no end.

She swept her hair out of her face and took a deep breath. She knew it wasn't good for her health to get riled up so early in the morning.

Left alone in the common room, she decided to explore a little. She made a bee-line for the bookshelf between the flights. She let her fingertips drag over the spines of the numerous volumes. Some of them were muggle non-fiction and others were collections of wizarding tales. A vast number of them were muggle fiction, though, and Hermione found herself glowing at some of the titles. There was a portion of the shelf also dedicated to Reference books. Hermione had a sneaking suspicion that some of them had been removed from the library. As she was running her fingers over the spines of these old volumes, a piece of paper caught her eye.

Lifting it up, she read: _These are a few books you might find helpful. Some of them have been borrowed from the restricted section of the library, so read at your own risk. _

Hermione raised her eyebrows. After a full summer of being more or less pissed off at Dumbledore, she had cooled off. As much as she hated it and the position it had put her in, she couldn't deny that it was genius. She stood up and walked across the room to the kitchenette.

The Lioness wondered why the Head Students would even need a kitchen, but she explored anyway. It would be especially useless if both the Heads were purebloods or half-bloods unused to muggle culture. Her attention was caught by another note hanging from the refrigerator. Did everything in this room carry a double meaning? She wondered.

Sighing slightly, she took the note and read it.

_This isn't your conventional Refrigerator Miss Parkinson/Mr. Malfoy (although I suppose the word itself hardly means anything to you). It is a direct portal from the kitchens to your room for the occasions that you cannot make it to the Great Hall. Try not to skip appearances at meal-time, though. Write what you wish to have on the whiteboard and the elves will get it to you as soon as possible. _

The Gryffindor's eyebrows shot up. Now this was something that was worth her interest. It was an excellent idea, one that she didn't know Hogwarts had thought of.

Of course, she paused, she hadn't really thought of Hogwarts having a swimming pool fit for royalty hanging off the edge of the Astronomy tower either. Hermione's face broke into a grin and she began humming as she continued her exploration. Anything was possible at Hogwarts.

At last, she headed up the stairs, changed her clothes, and went to the Great Hall for breakfast.

OoO

Hermione Parkinson couldn't suppress a yawn. As hard as she had tried to keep it down, her face just wouldn't listen to her. Suddenly, all the attention of the room was on her.

She blushed.

Draco, sitting next to her in his customary position, snickered. "It seems our dear Head Girl is tired." He fluttered his lashes and pouted mockingly.

Hermione's blush disappeared and she scowled. Looking around her at all of the prefects, she noticed most of them were trying to hide smiles. Even the Gryffindors. She shook her head and continued what she had been saying before the yawn had split her jaws. "Today went successfully. The first and third years know where they are going, for the most part, and the rest are behaving." She smiled. "We'll see how long that lasts."

Ginny chuckled. "I give you until ten o' clock on Wednesday, Mione."

The curly haired girl grimaced. "Don't get my hopes up, Ginny. For the time being, you have your record books and your special pins, so I don't think there's anything else that needs to be done today. Our Patrol schedule will be done soon, but we'll have to play it by ear until then. Tonight's patrol is Ginny and Oliver, floors 5, 6, and 7; Shea and Aero, floors 2, 3, and 4; and Anton and Jesse dungeons, 1st, and grounds. Your shift goes from 9:30 pm to 12:30 am."

"Question?" Shea said, her hand flipping up.

"Yes, Shea?"

"Why do only sixth years have patrol tonight?"

Draco answered for her. "Because all of us 7th year prefects have Double Potions first thing in the morning. At 7 o' clock. Meaning we have to be up by 5. I for one am not going into Snape's classroom with only 4 hours of sleep."

Hermione nodded at him. "So, dismissed."

The prefects began to file out of the classroom in small groups. The Gryffindors were just exiting when they heard a "Hey Parkinson!"

The Gryffindor turned around to see Tracey motion her over. "Theo didn't want to have to call your attention."

Hermione smirked and shook her head. The Slytherin was rather quiet in company. "What is it Nott?"

Theodore's face was calm as he answered. "I just wanted to know if you were willing to start our lessons tonight. It's only 8:30, so we have a little time."

Hermione thought about it. This was one of the only nights all year she wouldn't have homework. Plus, it was a reason to keep her away from Draco, someone that she'd had to put up with all day. On the other hand, she'd wanted to talk with Harry and Ron. She shrugged. They could wait a little longer. There were privileges to being Head Girl and one of those was being out after curfew.

"Sure, do you want to stay here or go somewhere else?" She asked.

"Here's fine with me," the tall boy said.

"Of course it is, you have the shorter walk back to your common room," Hermione chuckled.

"Your common room is only two floors away," Theo said, looking slightly confused.

"Ooh, I forgot, I don't have to walk all the way back to the Tower."

That got a small smile out of the Slytherin. "A little spacey, are you Parkinson?"

Hermione smiled back, "Not everyone has a photographic memory. That's practically cheating. Some of us had to work to be top of the class."

Theo scowled, "I case you don't remember, I'm not top of class. Well, at least publicly."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "That's right. I get stuck with the biggest ass in the entire school because Dumbledore wants to keep him out of harm's way. It makes me laugh. Being a Malfoy means he is harm."

The tall boy gave the smaller girl a cynical glance. "Well, that's not prejudiced at all, Miss Parkinson. Does being a Parkinson mean you're a bitch?"

Hermione's eyes snapped back to Theo, "Huh?"

The Slytherin shrugged, "I only asked whether being a Parkinson automatically makes you a bitch?"

The girl shook her head in amusement, "Your point is crystal clear."

Theo looked confused but didn't ask. Hermione's muggle references were a constant source of confusion for all of the Apprentices. "We should probably start. Don't want to push curfew too much and this'll take at least an hour."

Hermione nodded and they begun.

OoO

Just as Theo had predicted, one hour and fifteen minutes later, he and Hermione were still in that empty classroom on the second floor. The Gryffindor was scowling deeply and there was sweat beading on her forehead.

Theo's face was perfectly calm, though Hermione, much to her frustration, knew that he was laughing inside.

She felt a small prod on the corner of her conscience and she whirled around to face him. "What the hell was that?" Hermione seethed. "You didn't even say the incantation!"

"Didn't need to," The tall Slytherin commented coolly. "You have to calm down or you'll never clear your mind."

"Well excuse me! I never have to because you just touch and pull away. I have no need to clear my mind."

She saw a small flicker in Theo's eyes, but it disappeared quickly.

"Think about the Dark Lord breathing down your neck, looking into your darkest dreams and desires. Think about Bellatrix throwing you to the floor and laughing as you writhe in pain. She holds no reverence for the spell; she only uses it to make you go mad."

Hermione felt a cold shiver run up her spine. Even more than Voldemort, who had treated her like a pet, Bellatrix made her blood run cold. The woman was completely insane. For Hermione's highly organized and slightly OCD brain, insanity was essentially on par with Hell.

So she retreated into herself and tried to form an image of what was around her. That part was easy, her mind looked like a giant library, everything alphabetical and organized and-

"So completely easy to find."

Hearing the Slytherin's suave voice inside of her head made her jump and look around frantically.

"Make it hard. You can't just leave everything lying out in the open."

Closing her eyes tight, Hermione saw the Library shrink and shrink until she towered over it. Everything around her was sand. Pure sand. She conjured up the mental image of a wind and tossed the small library into it. Somewhere in the distance, it lay buried in the sand.

She opened her eyes and she felt her countenance calm. She showed as much emotion as Theo.

"Good?"

"No."

"Excuse me?" She had almost lost her grip on the image of the barren desert. It wavered slightly, but remained.

"Too easy to find. You only have one layer of mind… and one layer is too easy to sift through. But good for your first time."

"Tell me, how can you find it when I barely know where it is?" Hermione asked, her voice level.

"For Voldemort, pain is a priority. He will rip through your mind without a second thought until he finds your fortress."

"But-"

"There are no but's, Parkinson. He will."

"It doesn't help. How do I know what I'm up against if I've never seen it?"

Under Hermione's layer of calm, she saw Theodore's eyes flicker and she knew that his concentration was broken. He was looking at her through the eyes of a normal 17 year old male. Not a perfectly calm adult.

"You don't know what you're asking for, Parkinson. You have no idea."

"Of course I don't. Because it's never happened to me."

The Slytherin rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Are you sure that you want to me to do this?"

"Do whatever it takes to find the box," Hermione responded evenly.

"I'm going to warn you right now, it will be far too easy for me, and extremely difficult for you."

"Whatever it takes, Nott."

"I'm sorry then."

"For what?"

Her answer was pain. Unadulterated pain seemed to flow from her mind's eye to every part of her body. At first she tried to keep hold of the desert scene, but it was being torn apart by windstorms from every angle. She heard howling in her head and she knew that Theo had summoned wolves to search out the box in the maelstrom.

But she couldn't hold it any longer. With a scream, she fell to the ground. She felt the wolves find the box that had been flung by the wind and they tore at it. Scenes flashed by her eyes. Harry and Ron on the Train, the morning fight with Draco, her standing in front of the Great Hall, a boggart flew into her face as she lay on the ground in her mind, still screaming.

It felt as if her brain was bleeding fire. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't because her eyes were pressed closed from the screaming. Her limbs began to shake and then…

Then it was all gone. She uttered one final shriek as a tremor rippled through her body. Suddenly, she could cry, and cry she did. She lay on the stone floor of the room and sobbed.

Theo stood above her, fighting himself. Half of him wanted to drop to the ground and console her. The other half was yelling at the first half for being daft. He had to keep his shields up. He was a Slytherin. He wasn't supposed to care about Gryffindors, no matter what. The first half argued back that she had already seen the other him at Parkinson Manor. There was no use. The second half snorted and pushed the first half back.

So for a good five minutes, Hermione lay on the floor in front of the Slytherin Duke. Over that time, her sobs became quieter and less. She finally tried to pick herself up, but her arms were shaking too badly.

The compassionate half of Theo's mind finally came to the forefront. He descended to the floor and helped her stand. He was putting most of her weight on him. "I'm sorry. You had to see."

Hermione nodded and wiped her eyes. "I understand." Her voice was raspy and hoarse.

Theo took his wand and put the tip against Hermione's throat. She took a deep breath as a small yellow glow seeped from the wood into her body. It felt like swallowing honey.

"Thank you," She said, more clearly. She tried to stand on her own, but nearly fell again.

Theo kept a firm grip on her. "It's just about ten. Do you want to go back to your common room?"

The Gryffindor simply nodded and leaned against the much taller boy.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, the two of them began walking to the fourth floor.

When on the third floor, Theo heard a voice. "It's after curfew. What are you doing?"

He turned around to see Shea and Aero standing together, looking as much as twins as Aero and Dhaval were.

"Oh, Theodore. It's you and…. Parkinson?" Aero's dark eyes narrowed. "What the hell is wrong with Parkinson?"

"We were training," The seventh year simply said.

Realization sparkled in Shea's eyes, "For the next time Parkinson meets the-"

Aeronwen slapped a hand over Shea's mouth. "You're loud mouth is going to get us all in trouble, Tempest."

Shea shook of the other girl's hand.

Hermione just smiled at them, too exhausted to do anything else.

"I'm just taking her back to the Head Common," Theodore stated

"And why do you know where those are?" Shea snorted.

"Because some of us can keep things under the radar, unlike you."

Aero snorted.

Hermione felt her knees weaken and so did Theo who was holding her upright. "We need to go, you two. See you in the morning."

Shea saluted mockingly and Aero dipped her head. They two of them kept on their way down the hall.

OoO

Draco was prepared for the door to swing open. Actually, he had been preparing for the last hour. Was there a better time to hound on Parkinson than after she was tired, worn out, and just wanted to sleep? He remembered his first occlumency lesson fondly.

He snorted as he leaned into the cream colored sofa. Fondly if one meant mind numbingly boring and uneventful. His mother had been his teacher and he always thought she had been too soft on him, yet he had learned all the same. All Malfoys were master occlumens and legillmens. He was still working on the mastery of the art, but the basics were simple enough.

Draco's chance came sooner than he thought. The door swung open and he stood up, ready to be an insufferable bastard to the bored out of her mind Parkinson.

He never got his chance. What he saw instead nearly made him sit down in shock.

Parkinson was there alright, but what the hell was Theo doing with her? The smaller girl was supported completely by the tall Slythern's arm. It was wrapped tightly around her waist and it looked as if she wouldn't have been able to if she had wanted. There were tear streaks n her face and her previously soft waves were tangled and in a disarray.

"What the fuck?" Draco couldn't help the words from coming out of his mouth.

Theo shot him a dark look.

Parkinson didn't even glance at him. She was focusing on standing.

Draco couldn't believe his eyes. He just couldn't. "How did you get in here, Theo. I haven't given you the password yet and Parkinson doesn't look like shes capable of doing anything. Although, that's not too uncommon."

Would he be Draco Malfoy if he didn't take at least one stab at the helpless Parkinson?

"Shut up, Draco, which room is hers?" Theo growled mirthlessly.

Acceptable occlumens or not, Draco couldn't help but be read like a book. His mouth had fallen open. "Take your pick. I'm sure a smart one like you could figure it out."

Theo scowled and went directly to the staircase with the red rug at the landing. "Try to behave yourself until I come back."

Draco watched in confused silence as Theo scooped the Gryffindor up and took her up the stairs.

There were muffled voices for a few minutes, then Theo came down again.

Draco waited for the taller boy to take a seat in the chair opposite before asking, "What the hell was that all about, mate?"

Theo rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily. "The first lesson took a bit of a negative turn at the end."

The blonde scoffed. "I'll say. What did you do to her? I want to know so I can shut her up now and then."

Theo gave Draco such a withering look that Draco knew it was time to just shut up. It wasn't prudent to say anything.

"Occlumency is difficult, Draco. You don't know that because your mother taught you. If your dearest father," Theo noticed Draco stiffen slightly, "had taught you, Parkinson would've looked like the picture of health compared to you."

Draco's mouth was in a grim line, "So, was she successful?"

Theo paused. "No. Not at all. All it took was a little pain and all of her defenses crumbled. She's so organized that ruffling through her mind is like going to the library. You can almost always find what you're looking for."

The blonde's eyebrows knitted. "Pain?"

Theo gave the other Slytherin a flabbergasted look. "Yes, pain. Using occlumency on a beginner can sometimes have the same after effects as the crutiatus curse. The only difference is that the effects of occlumency are purely mental."

Draco looked out one of the vast windows of the Head Tower. "I don't think it was ever painful for me."

Theo chuckled. "Do you really think your mother would've inflicted pain on you for no reason? When you started learning, there was no reason to hurry, no chance of death looming on the horizon. You had all the time in the world." He paused for a moment. "Parkinson needs to learn as fast as is humanly possible. She asked for me not to go easy on her, so I didn't."

Theo expected some sort of answer from the younger male, but didn't receive any. He looked over and saw the Slytherin Head Boy staring blankly out the windows.

"Our life expectancies seem to be diminishing every day," Draco finally said, all jest gone from his voice.

Theo's head cocked slightly to the left. "You're only just realizing this?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Well, how I see it, we'd be lucky to survive to the end of the school year. Even less if you're Parkinson, Ally, or Shea."

"Those three are in dangerous positions, although I would say Shea has it under control. Ally is under good guidance… Parkinson…"

"Isn't going to last, is she." Draco finished.

Theo shook his head. "We can't just give up on her. But she needs more training than we can give. I'm doing my part, you're a jackass to toughen her up, Pansy and the other girls are on etiquette… what we need is another spy, but in Hermione's position, we can't reveal any of them to her."

Draco looked up. "You just called her Hermione."

Theo shrugged. "Having two Parkinson's messes with my brain."

Draco snickered. "Oh yes, you're over active information hoarding brain gets two girls who look nothing alike messed up."

Theo glowered at the other male, "Back to the topic at hand. Do you think we should involve Snape and Ally?"

Draco shook his head in disbelief. "How? How the hell would we involve Snape without getting him killed or maimed. And Ally? Just a bad idea. She and Daphne are as loyal as ducklings."

Theo shrugged. "She's going to have to get to know even the loyal ones. They may turn out to be better for her than us. Because we just have to appear loyal. We may slip and jeaprodize her position."

Draco waved his hand. "This hurts my brain, Theo. Go to bed."

Theo sighed and stood up. There were just too many variables.

A/N: Next chapter keeps the plot in motion


	16. The End of This Summer

The End of this Summer

Hello everyone, this is Silvy speaking! I know it has been absolute ages since I have added a new chapter to the End of Summer and that I got your hopes up by uploading this one.

Unfortunatley, I have some bad news. I will not be continuing The End of Summer. I began it when I was a fledgling writer and have found that the direction that it began taking is not where I wanted to go anymore.

However, I do have some good news.

A few months ago, I fell back in love with my Slytherins and decided that it was time to begin rewriting them, all for the better. Thus:

**I AM IN THE PROCESS OF REWRITING THE END OF SUMMER. **

I have six chapter written so far, each at roughly 2,000 words. It still follows the story of Hermione Parkinson and the Slytherins, but this time around, it has more viewpoints on our favourite Gryffindor and (as far as I know) has less plot holes.

I'm not planning on uploading the first chapters until I have at least ten written and read by a beta. That is where I need your help! I am currently looking for a beta. Since I am now a college student, I would like an experienced beta, preferably one with more than a passing familiarity with British English to combat my chronic use of American colloquialisms .

PM me if you are interested or know someone who might be. I'm excited to get this train back on track.

With any luck, I'll have the first few chapters posted by the End of Summer!

Until then, here's my currently unbeta'd copy of Chapter One. I know, I'm a tease ;)

-0-0-0-

_Hermione looked down at the cooing baby, her eyes wide. She stood there, but could say nothing as realization dawned on her. She had seen this child in old photographs, in well kept books. But it couldn't be... _

_'Marius!' A beautiful, high pitched voice rang through the room, making the baby smile broadly and coo even more. 'Marius, be a dear and get Pansy, I don't have very long before my Lord will summon me. I would call Bitty down, but she's caught something and I don't want her near my babies." _

_The woman that entered the room was just as beautiful as the voice. But Hermione barely noticed her or the words that continued to spill from the perfectly colored lips. Her vision was still locked on the child. The baby couldn't have been more than a year old as she unsteadily held herself up on the edge of the crib. _

_"Mia needs to be fed in a few hours and I don't know how soon I will be back. And I know it can be hard to remember sometimes, but if you won't be in the room, do not leave them in the same cot. They argue over absolutely everything."_

_Hermione jumped out of the way as the beautiful woman came to the crib and picked the baby up. "You'll be a sweetheart for mother, will you?" The baby laughed in response, trying to grab at one of the woman's pearl drop earrings. _

_The woman laughed in response and pulled the toddler's hand away. "Mia, bella, no. Mother needs to go out. Be good to your sister. I know you usually don't start things, but you reciprocate far louder." The baby stopped reaching and gurgled happily. "It'll be just my luck if you're sorted into Gryffindor, you bold brat." For a moment the child stopped everything, seeming to understand the insult, but the illusion was broken quickly as the girl cooed even louder and reached for the pearl again. _

_The mother glared at the child, kissed her forehead and set her down calling out for her husband once again. _

_Hermione took a few steps toward the baby, needing a closer look, to be absolutely sure, when the area around her melted away and was replaced by a larger parlor. _

_"Oh Cissa, I just don't know. It's not like our Lord to just leave us here." The beautiful woman was there again, this time cradling tea in the lap, her hand shaking slightly. _

_"If Jacoba had been here with us, I would have questioned it, but you know how He has been treating both you and I since Audrey's death," This woman could be mistaken for no other . Even though Hermione had never met her, Narcissa Malfoy was one of a kind. "You know we stay with our children, Delilah." _

_The woman, Delilah, sighed and took a sip of the tea. "I know. But you do not bear the mark. I can feel them. It was always minor on other raids, but on the culmination of our Lord's plans? It burns." _

_A chorus of excited "Mother!"s echoed though the room as a gaggle of toddlers rushed in. _

_"Pansy Parkinson, where are your manners!" Delilah cried out. The dark skinned girl that was leading the pack stopped, suddenly ashamed. "And you, Mia, what did you do to get your sister so excited?" _

_A lighter skinned girl pouted. "I was just telling a story I heard. 'Bout what muggles do on 'loween."_

_Delilah put her delicate hand to the bridge of her nose. "If our Lord could hear you. What have I told you about reading about muggles, Mia? Especially on such an important date." She turned to Narcissa. "I am truly sorry, dear, that Draco had to hear that." _

_The blonde woman took a sip of her tea and smiled softly. "Toddlers do what they will, Lilah. Although some have better taste." _

_The brown haired girl pouted darker, glaring at the blonde. A laugh came from the blond boy behind her. "Stop it Draco. That wasn't vew-vew-very nice, Lady Malfoy." _

_One pale eyebrow rose dramatically. "I suppose it wasn't, Mia."_

_It was obvious that Malfoy was going to say more, but she was cut off by a banshee scream from the woman next to her. Even Hermione in her specter form, jumped. All of the toddlers began to cry in fear and shock, running to Narcissa who had fallen to her knees. She wrapped her arms around them. The girls stared at their mother in fear. _

_The normally immaculate Delilah Parkinson had tears streaming down her face as she clutched her left arm. The mark had faded, but was puffy and red. It looked like nothing more than a new tattoo. "He's gone." _

_"What on earth do you mean?" Narcissa cried out, still trying to calm the startled children. _

_" The mission failed. Something happened, I don't know," Delilah's eyes were wide and she slumped to the floor. "Oh Cissa, He's dead." The two girls broke out of Lady Malfoy's arms and ran to their mother. "We're all dead." _

_Hermione stood in shock as the scene around her faded into shadows again. _

"Miss Granger, you may exit the pensieve."

An order. Not, a request.

As she pulled away from the smooth waters, the Gryffindor stumbled backwards slightly. What had just happened?

What in the name of Merlin had she just seen?.

There was no way, no way that what she had seen could have been true. She would have remembered. There would have been pictures, clothes, something, anything! No, no, no...

"Miss Granger, please sit down and let us continue where we left our discussion prior to viewing."

Hermione nodded and sat down. Her brain was already working at a hundred miles an hour to try and think of all the charms and spells she knew that could have made the suppression of those memories so complete. She could only think of a few and they had their flaws. But she realized with an internal groan that whoever had magicked her must have done so with Dumbledore or perhaps even Dumbledore himself and there were probably hundreds of thousands of spells that that man knew that the average wizard could only...

"Miss Granger!"

Hermione jumped, "Headmaster." She said flatly.

For the first time since exiting the pensieve, she actually looked at Albus Dumbledore. She could no longer see him as benevolent. He had done something, something huge, and she couldn't even grasp what he had done, no less the true magnitude. All she knew is that the balance of many lives were going to be thrown off if what she had seen was true.

The old man leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I know you must be confused by what you saw, and rightfully so. I didn't show you nearly enough, but if I had compiled all the necessary memories, we would have been here for hours. So it's clear to you that you were adopted."

Hermione's hands tightened on the arms of the seat. Now that her shock was wearing off, it was being replaced by anger. "Yes, Headmaster. I've known since I was a child." Her expression was clearly not amused.

Dumbledore nodded. "The memories you have just seen were compiled from Delilah Parkinson, her personal Elf, Minnie, and myself." He paused slightly, steepling his fingers in the air. "You were born on September 19th of 1979 as Hermione Peony Parkinson, the younger twin of Pansy Ophelia Parkinson."

Hermione's jaw clenched. "Pansy Parkinson is my twin."

The Headmaster nodded once again even though it hadn't been a question. "I know this must be a bit of a shock..."

Try as she may, Hermione could not have suppressed the wayward snort.

"But please continue to listen to my narrative. Those, were trying times for many, Miss Granger, but you and your sister were well cared for and well loved. The Parkinsons were an influential family who had made their name with the merchant trade a few hundred years ago and Mrs. Parkinson is both a Yaxley and Prince. They did not lack for anything. The true trial for them came when Voldemort fell."

Hermione scowled. That had been the last memory that Dumbledore had shown her, but she could _easily_ deduce that that was not even close to the end of the matter. It was probably the beginning.

He continued languidly. "That night, the marks had been deactivated by the corporeal death of the master. However, they did not disappear. When it came time to round all known Death Eaters up, there was a certain numbers disparity. There were many known conspirators but hardly any bore the dark mark. Those that did were affluent members of society and quite a few went free. It caused quite the stir."

Hermione was listening intently, not having heard this part of recent history. At the same time, she could not help but roll her eyes at Dumbledore's understatement. Sending unmarked criminals to jail while Inner Circle members got off scot free? Society must have been in an uproar.

"Your mother was among those that got off with a probationary period. Six months of no magical use. Three more years of close surveillance." He looked down at the 6th year Gryffindor and met her eyes. "You and Pansy saved your mother, Miss Granger. Soon after you were born, Theodore Nott's mother was killed in a raid, so Tom Riddle forbade the young mothers from participating in most of his... ah... activities. These mothers included Aurora Greengrass, and Narcissa Malfoy. Both of them were also protected when the trials came."

Hermione's lips pursed. "Excuse me Headmaster, as interesting as I find this information, how on earth do I fit in to all of this. How do I get from being a Parkinson to a Granger?" She asked.

Dumbledore's blue eyes flashed. "Patience, child."

The Gryffindor bristled. Benevolent indeed.

" The trouble came the year after. I was discussing the removal of the dark mark with various Masters when they said that if the mark were truly dead, it would have disappeared. Such is the nature of Slave marks. It was disturbing news. I soon discovered that the soul of Tom Riddle remained. The war had not been ended, but rather, postponed. This, Miss Granger, is where you become valuable."

Hermione looked at her Headmaster squarely, her brain working. Valuable? What could one gain from taking a child away from a loving mother?

"Since the battle was postponed for an indeterminable amount of years, I had to plan for the future. So I chose you, from among your peers, to be my soldier. If the success of Riddle's dogma in the first war was any indication, the success of it a second time could strip the Light from a way to infiltrate the old names. So, on Christmas morning of '83-"

Fawkes suddenly flew from his perch and trilled a warning.

Dumbledore sighed deeply and sat back in his chair. "I'm sorry, Miss Granger, but I must cut our meeting short." A flick of his wand and room shone slightly before the extra light disappeared. "We will continue our discussion at a later date, but I must tell you the most important part now. I mustn't waste any more time." He stood and selected a vial from his cabinet of memories. "I need you, Miss Granger, to return to your birth family. Once there, you must report the going-ons of the wealthy families directly to me."

Hermione's hands had gone white. "Sir, you mean for me to-"

"Spy. Yes, Miss Granger. You must do your duty for the sake of us all." With that, he handed her the vial of memories and opened the door.

Later that night, if anyone had been near the 6th years girls dorm, they would have heard the crash of glass and water as a pensieve hit the ground.


End file.
